Heavyweight speakers to address Manufacturing Indaba Western Cape

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The Manufacturing Indaba Western Cape, which will take place on Friday, 6 November, 2015, at the CTICC, brings a stellar line-up of speakers to Western Cape manufacturers looking to grow their manufacturing businesses in the midst the challenges of load shedding, rising labour costs, cheap imports, lack of competitiness and labour issues. The province's manufacturing delegates will also find out how to make the most of the government's programmes to enhance their manufacturing competitiveness.

Partnered by the Department of Trade & Industry and presented in conjunction with the Manufacturing Circle, the Manufacturing Indaba Western Cape programme has input from collaborators including Wesgro, NCPC-SA, the Western Cape Tooling Initiative, Plastics SA, Cape Chamber, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government, and Green Cape.

The DTI's Minister, Dr Rob Davies, will deliver a keynote address detailing the government's current manufacturing programmes and sharing recent manufacturing success stories. Stavros Nicolaou, Head of Strategic Trade at Aspen Pharmacare, will inspire manufacturers on being competitive in the current economic climate, and Dr Hildegarde Fast, the Lead in the Premier's Office for Energy Security Game Changer, brings a wealth of experience on the topic of energy security for manufacturing.

Manufacturing is currently the second biggest sector in the Western Cape after the financial services sector and contributed 15% to the South African manufacturing sector output of R300 billion in 2012. The provincial manufacturing sector attracts large amounts of inward investment and enjoys substantial state assistance as an employment-creating industry with products including heavy-duty industrial equipment, vehicle parts and electrical equipment.

Government's 'New Growth Path'

Manufacturing forms a key component of the government's 'New Growth Path' and the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), which both call for the re-industrialisation of the South African economy based on improving performance through innovation, skills development and reduced input costs in the economy. It is the reason that the government is investing R5.8 billion over the next three years to help manufacturers affected by the global economic downturn upgrade their factories, improve products and train workers. The New Growth Path of 2010 aims at enhancing growth, employment creation and equity and creating five million jobs over 10 years.

The Manufacturing Indaba Western Cape brings together government and private sector players in support of these government strategic policies so that both public and private stakeholders can work together for inclusive jobs growth in the nation's re-industrialisation process. The one-day conference will allow manufacturers from the province to hear industry thought leaders unpack issues in panel sessions where four to five speakers will debate issues relating to a particular topic.

The topics to be discussed include:

• Spatial development opportunities in the regional IDZs and SEZs;
  
• Energy solutions and alternative power for manufacturing;
  
• Localisation for supply chain development and local production;
  
• Advanced manufacturing - design and innovation from concept to market; and
  
• Investment promotion and export opportunities in manufacturing.

Manufacturers will also gain insight into opportunities available for doing business on the continent through the exporting of South African products to African markets. South Africa has a developed economy with pockets of manufacturing excellence. The country has the most diversified economy on the continent and can play an integral role in Africa's advancement.

According to analysts, an estimated 800 million people have been urbanised on the continent in the past decade, making it the prime investment destination for South African manufacturers to introduce their products to the African market, particularly fast-moving consumer goods.

For more information or to register, go to www.manufacturingindaba.co.za/wc