Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says 80% of respondents to its 2016 Membership Survey will be investing in their companies despite tough economic conditions.
CEO, Kevin Hustler, said 38% percent of the respondents said they would invest in human resources and infrastructure.
He said 24% said they would invest only in human resources while 22% would just invest in infrastructure in their businesses.
However, Hustler said the respondents "cited several challenges affecting their Nelson Mandela Bay companies' bottom line including political instability, the shrinking economy, unemployment, the Rand/Dollar exchange rate, raw material pricing, high taxes and petrol price increases."
According to the survey findings "high electricity prices were one of the biggest challenges faced by businesses in Nelson Mandela Bay (33.6%), followed by unreliable supply of electricity (25%) and bad maintenance or poor road infrastructure (17%)."
Huslter said as the authoritative voice of business in the region, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has positioned itself to address the challenges affecting the sustainability of our member companies, said Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Kevin Hustler.
"Electricity, water and roads make up the core of our Priority Focus Areas for 2016 and we have also recently aligned our task teams to these priorities. Our Business Chamber task team volunteers play a critical role in delivering on these key priority areas," Hustler said.
Other core priority focus areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Strategy include Transport and Logistics, Metro Collaboration and SME Development.
Hustler said he was pleased with the results of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Membership Survey 2016 and the confidence shown in Our Business Chamber by its members. 96% of respondents said they would recommend becoming a member of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber to fellow businesses.
