Through its 2025 to 2030 Strategic Plan, provincial trade and investment promotion agency Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) aims to attract more than R31.5-billion in investments into KwaZulu-Natal and facilitate the creation of over 40 500 jobs by 2030.

These targets build on the agency’s existing achievements between 2019 and 2024, during which it facilitated R22.6-billion in investments and supported 22 640 jobs through new projects. The agency also secured an additional 17 106 jobs through business retention and expansion initiatives, TIKZN CEO Sihle Ngcamu says.

Following the July 2021 civil unrest that impacted on KwaZulu-Natal, TIKZN played a key role in the province’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, Ngcamu explains. This included direct engagement with affected businesses, coordination of relief interventions and active promotion of the province as a stable investment destination.

Concurrently, the agency participated in initiatives to strengthen service delivery, improve infrastructure and ensure that business continuity risks were actively managed.

In the wake of unrest and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic, the 2025 to 2030 Strategic Plan focuses on rebuilding investor confidence, supporting economic recovery and accelerating inclusive growth through sustainable trade and investment.

“Central to the plan is a commitment to transforming the provincial economy by enhancing KwaZulu-Natal’s competitiveness as a destination for business,” Ngcamu says.

The strategy is anchored on four main pillars, namely increasing investment into key sectors, expanding exports by supporting local enterprises in accessing international markets, ensuring business retention and expansion through direct support to local companies, and achieving institutional excellence in the facilitation of trade and investment services.

Ngcamu adds that the plan places strong emphasis on inclusive economic participation, particularly among historically disadvantaged groups, and aims to align investment opportunities with the province’s developmental priorities.

Targets for the new strategy period include an increase in the number of export-ready small- and medium-sized enterprises, enhanced foreign direct investment inflows and a stronger presence by KwaZulu-Natal in key international markets.

“KwaZulu-Natal is a province with enormous untapped potential. Through this five-year strategy, TIKZN is creating a roadmap not just for investment attraction but for structural economic transformation,” Ngcamu says.

He elaborates that resilience and adaptability are integrated in the strategy to respond to global and domestic challenges and trends. Aligned to this, it promotes investment in renewable energy and green infrastructure to mitigate the effects of loadshedding and reduce the province’s energy vulnerability.

The agency is also working closely with Operation Vulindlela, along with other national programmes to address systemic issues such as port congestion, freight rail inefficiencies and water infrastructure backlogs.

Further, TIKZN provides direct support to companies in distress to ensure businesses can withstand economic shocks.

Investment and Business Opportunities
KwaZulu-Natal offers several competitive advantages for investors and businesses, Ngcamu asserts. The province has two of the busiest ports in the southern hemisphere, the Port of Durban and Port of Richards Bay, and is strategically located along key regional and global trade routes.

Further, the province boasts a strong manufacturing and logistics base and offers access to a young and trainable workforce, relatively low operating costs and a diversified economy that supports industrial, agricultural and service-based investments, Ngcamu explains.

Consequently, KwaZulu-Natal will focus on attracting investment in high-impact industries, including manufacturing, particularly the agroprocessing and automotive sectors, and logistics and maritime services, among other sectors, over the next decade.

The province also sees significant potential in value-added industries and infrastructure-linked developments, given its geographic advantages and access to major markets, Ngcamu says.

Further, TIKZN is working to revitalise the tourism sector by leveraging the province’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. These efforts include developing eco-tourism attractions, promoting heritage routes such as Zulu cultural landmarks and supporting infrastructure upgrades in rural and coastal tourism nodes.

Ngcamu explains that the province is working with the private sector to expand investment in hospitality and experience-based tourism offerings, aimed at domestic and international markets.

Additionally, TIKZN is actively promoting emerging sectors aligned with global trends. These include the green economy, such as waste-to-energy, circular economy models and carbon trading; the ocean economy, including ship repair and aquaculture; and the digital economy through technology and innovation hubs.

He asserts that these sectors are being positioned as growth frontiers with high job creation and export potential.

Moreover, to address investor concerns, such as regulatory delays, energy insecurity, port inefficiencies and safety risks, TIKZN provides facilitation services, which include support in navigating bureaucracy, fast-tracking applications and offering post-investment support.

The agency also works with government stakeholders to address policy and infrastructure-related bottlenecks.

TIKZN offers a comprehensive suite of investor support services. These include access to special economic zones, which offer favourable tax and customs incentives, “one-stop shop” investment facilitation services and assistance with regulatory compliance and permitting.

Further, the agency also facilitates funding opportunities with development finance institutions. Exporters can benefit from the agency’s trade facilitation services, while transformation-linked support is available to companies promoting inclusive ownership and empowerment, Ngcamu concludes.