South Africa – Minnesota Business Council

The Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA) remains the first point of contact for smart investors and entrepreneurs who want to unlock value in Gauteng and beyond. Since its inception GEDA has generated investment totalling over R7 billion. This equates to an average rate of between R1.5 and R1.6bn per financial year.

Gauteng has continued to strengthen its position as the economic engine of the country and the continent, by contributing nearly 43% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, despite these figures Gauteng has a high unemployment rate due in most part to the large population within the province. This has led GEDA to committing itself to achieving a targeted eight percent growth rate per annum by 2014. There are also plans in place to implement a growth and development strategy for infrastructure with a capital expenditure, three-year budget of ZAR30 billion, which will create jobs and draw more people into the mainstream of the economy.

The Gauteng Economic Development Agency is committed to placing more emphasis on direct domestic investment and trade facilitation. In the past priority has been given to foreign investment, however the focus is to equally support domestic investors and the role South African business can play in Africa in terms of its product use and consumption.

Our strategy is to attract both, investment into Gauteng and to assist South African companies investing in other African countries. Our hub is indeed the financial powerhouse for the African continent.

Many South African companies have thus far shown impressive gains in African markets with the assistance of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD) informing policies in Gauteng and encouraging stability, economic development and free enterprise across the continent.

We have also nicknamed tourism Gauteng’s ‘new gold ‘ since it has overtaken the mining sector in GDP contribution. The province continues to attract over 52% of the seven million international tourists who come to South Africa. Similarly domestic tourism grew from 16.6% in the first quarter of 2005 to 22.1% in the second quarter.

The province is also preparing itself to host the 2010 World Cup and the upgrading of stadiums is one of the examples of public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives that characterise our operations in Gauteng.
Gauteng is a Global Competitive City Region offering gateway into Africa and home to multinationals companies head offices. GEDA is in the forefront of positioning the province as a true Global City Region offering a 24/7 world class business and lifestyle service. From opening a shop in Sandton to looking for opportunities into the African markets and beyond, GEDA remains the facilitator of your smart access.

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