Cape Town’s Inner City is welcoming businesses back, and with them, a wave of private investment that is reshaping public life. This Heritage Month, Mission for Inner City Cape Town is showcasing how leading corporates are choosing to base themselves downtown and co-invest in restoring the city’s shared spaces.

From Massmart and Ultraviolet Gallery setting up in town to Ninety One reaffirming its long-term commitment to the CBD through the refurbishment and new lease of its South African headquarters, the message is clear: the future of Cape Town’s economy is inseparable from the future of its Inner City.

“Businesses aren’t just moving their offices back into the city, they’re moving their capital into the public spaces around them,” says Tim Harris, Founder of Mission for Inner City CT. “That’s what makes this moment historic. Corporate investment is making Cape Town’s heritage live again while unlocking long-term economic value for the city and for business.”

For Ninety One, a renewed long-term commitment to its South African headquarters in the Inner City comes with a three-year partnership with The Mission. CEO Hendrik du Toit reflects, “As a global investment manager with deep South African roots and a major presence in Cape Town, Ninety One’s commitment to the Inner City is both personal and professional. We are investing well over half a billion Rand into the CBD through the refurbishment and new lease of our SA headquarters. Partnering with The Mission is about backing Cape Town’s heritage while helping to build a vibrant, modern Inner City that works for everyone. If we do not invest in the future of our city and our country, who will?”

Dylan Culhane from Ultraviolet Gallery adds, “Opening Ultraviolet in a century-old heritage building in the heart of Cape Town is about more than finding a gallery space, it’s about being part of the city’s renewal. Every brick here tells a story, and by adding the voices of local photographers, we’re helping to write the next chapter of Cape Town’s creative identity.”
 

“Every project signals that Cape Town is not a city in retreat, it’s a city on the rise,” says Harris. “When companies choose to come back downtown, they’re not only reshaping the office market, they’re reshaping the entire experience of city life.”

The Mission’s open-city model ensures that private investment in the CBD benefits everyone from traders to tourists, from families to multinationals. With support from civic and government partners, the initiative is positioning Cape Town as a continental benchmark for inclusive, business-backed urban renewal.

“As we mark Heritage Month, we are reminded that Cape Town’s story has always been written in its streets and squares,” says Harris. “With businesses returning and reinvesting, we are shaping the next chapter together.”

Additional representatives sharing The Mission for Inner City’s vision for bringing business back into the inner city include:

Wrenelle Stander, Wesgro CEO said: “Wesgro is on a mission to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth, strengthen competitiveness and create jobs in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Achieving this objective requires an enabling business environment, where the private sector can easily invest and expand. Well-run central business districts are essential to making this happen. It is therefore welcome news that leading corporates are returning to Cape Town’s inner-city, demonstrating improved business confidence in the province.”

Oliver Konsta of Charles Hope Cape Town serviced apartments: “Our apartments on Loop Street are conveniently located to showcase everything the Inner City has to offer: This location cannot be beaten if you want to immerse yourself in the real Mother City. Seeing businesses come together to further improve this prime location bodes well for tourism, job creation and building a community.”