Leon Hugo
The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has officially launched its Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank, capping two days of events that aimed to showcase the Metro as the “Bay of Opportunity.”
CEO, Denise van Huyseten, said Friday’s official launch marked a significant step towards achieving the vision of unlocking the potential of the metro.
The launch at Nelson Mandela Bay stadium included the signing of a pledge by business leaders who committed to collectively adopt a united vision to unlock the potential opportunities which the Bay has, and to enable it to become a diverse manufacturing base on the African continent.
The Chamber said the initiative will also be supported through the involvement of the intellectual and other resources of members, partners, and other key role players in the applicable work streams of the Think Tank.
“Key to this endeavour is the commitment to collaborate in identifying opportunities aimed at retaining and creating investment and jobs in the Metro. This commitment was symbolised by the signing of a pledge during the launch event,” said Van Huyssteen.
She said the need to diversify the local economy and reduce the over-reliance on the automotive sector has been long known.
Van Huysteen said that recognising the massive disruptive changes which are happening globally and locally, the Think Tank will be focused on positioning Nelson Mandela Bay as a Bay of Opportunity.
“Leveraging its two ports, the city aims to become a world-class logistics hub for imports and exports. Additionally, prioritising infrastructure inter-connectivity of enabling rail, road and ports is crucial for retaining and accelerating private sector investment and jobs.
“Our Bay is the potential anchor of a myriad of downstream opportunities such as manufacturing of electrolysers, small-scale hydrogen combustion engines, fuel cells, medical devices, wind turbines and the production of not only of green energy but the equipment for generating that energy,” she said.
The Chamber’s Think Tank co-lead, Quintin Uren, said that to reinvent the economy and remain competitive, the Chamber has set its sights on diversifying the local manufacturing industries.
He said it will also focus on capitalising on global gaps, shifting the focus from automobile to “altermotive” mobility while strengthening the industry’s flexibility and resilience.”
Uren said it was heartening to see that these discussions around the Think Tank and its objectives, were now turning into action.
“Too often talk ends up just being talk. In fact, as we all know, one of our country’s shortcomings is that we have many good plans but too seldom do they end up actually being implemented.
“As a business community, we have hope for the future – we know that this is the Bay of Opportunity. It starts with all of us believing in the potential and taking action to drive things forward in the right direction,” said Uren.
