Investors Offered Business Opportunities in S’African City

Peter Uzoho

As investors grapple with the choice of where to invest and make quick returns on investment with relative certainty, Matlosana, a municipal council in North West Province of South Africa, has been described as one of the business destinations for smart businessmen.

This was disclosed at a three-day trade and infrastructure investment conference organised by the municipality at the Rio Hotel Casino and Convention Resort in Klerksdorp recently, which exposed huge business opportunities in the mining, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and transportation sectors in the economy.

Aimed at diversifying the city’s economy away from mining and creating jobs for the youths, the conference brought together indigenous and foreign investors from different sectors of the economy to discuss .sector-specific topics. Over 300 business owners, industry experts and the public sector participated in the conference.

However, declaring the city ready for investors, Executive Mayor, City of Matlosana, Ms. Maetu Kgaile, in her welcome address disclosed government’s action plan aimed at creating a conducive business atmosphere for both foreign and local investors.

“We have looked at our competitive advantages to put together a plan for development, job creation and investment. Our competitive offerings to domestic and international investors include our easy access to Gauteng, as well as regional markets of Botswana and Namiba,” she said.

“We in the City of Matlosana, the largest city in the province, have assembled a team to put together bankable projects which can attract domestic and international investment.
“Through this we are confident we will be able to elevate the levels of development in the province while creating jobs which will directly impact on the socio-economic conditions of our people.

Kgaile said the municipal and provincial administrations were looking to position the province differently in the areas of manufacturing and mining, infrastructure, green economy, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism, and transport infrastructure development opportunities.
She disclosed that land had been made available to develop an industrial park that would be a hub offering affordable industrial space for small and medium-sized enterprises.

“In addition to traditional areas of economic activity, including mining and manufacturing, we would like to see the park host companies who are able to contribute to metal beneficiation (ferrous and non-ferrous metals), agro-processing and solar geyser manufacturing, manufacturing of mining tools and apparel, and machinery in support of the mining companies in the area.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Milvest, Mr. Miller Matola whose company was among the partners of the programme, assured Nigerian investors who want to invest in Matlosana of adequate protection of their investments.
He said moving ahead, their next plan was to have business to business meetings in specific countries where they had reached out to.
“But we are also talking about two way trade because there are a lot of opportunities around two way trade which we would like them to make a call for,” he added.

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