Tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, Wesgro, earlier this month hosted its yearly international buyers programme, Made In The Cape.

The event convenes global procurement groups and provincial exporters for a week of trade engagement.

“Since its inception in 2023, Made In The Cape has delivered actionable results,” said Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander.

“To date, the programme has secured 13 signed trade deals, with a projected value of R50.7-million over the next five years.”

Held in partnership with DHL Express and Standard Bank, this year’s programme connected 34 international buyers from 17 countries with more than 230 export-ready businesses in the Western Cape.

Companies represented sectors such as manufacturing, design, film and agriprocessing.

Stander noted that strengthening trade required sustained collaboration.

“Boosting trade cannot be achieved in isolation, or through siloed efforts.”

In her view, long-term export growth depends on coordinated action between government, corporates and industry to ensure local firms can compete and scale internationally.

This year’s Made In The Cape programme took place against a steady rise in provincial trade performance.

Western Cape exports have increased from R160.9-billion in 2021, to R219.7-billion last year, highlighting the province’s growing weight in South Africa’s export basket.

This year’s buyers travelled from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, the US, Canada, Austria, and the UK, and included 19 new and 15 returning partners.

Returning buyers included retail and tourism players from India, the Middle East, Kenya and China, while new participants featured major names across film, wine importation, fresh produce, large-scale distribution and food supply.

The roll-call also included global corporates such as The Walt Disney Company and Reliance Retail, alongside regional distributors and specialist importers.

Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Ivan Meyer emphasised at the event the strategic importance of export-led growth.

“We are opening doors – doors that connect our local businesses to global opportunities, and global buyers to the unmatched quality, creativity and reliability of Western Cape products and services.

“Export growth, investment attraction and private-sector expansion are the engines of sustainable job creation in our province. We know that jobs come from globally competitive businesses – businesses that can scale beyond local borders.”

City of Cape Town Economic Growth MMC James Vos added that the benefits of export success extended beyond individual firms.

“When a local manufacturer secures an export order, it strengthens an entire value chain. It supports production, logistics, packaging, compliance and distribution.”

To enable export growth, Cape Town was advancing a Manufacturing Support Policy focused on improving industrial areas, supporting energy resilience and accelerating factory expansions, he noted.

A complementary Business Support Policy aims to formalise and expand assistance provided through the city’s Business Hub, which has supported more than 5 800 businesses over the past year.

Wesgro’s own Cape Trade Portal is a digital marketplace linking 1 290 verified exporters with 8 399 products and services with 761 registered international buyers across 80 countries.