Programme Description
The programme aims at growing domestic and foreign trade and attract both domestic and foreign investment into the province.
The Programme is comprised of the following sub-programmes:
Trade Promotion – to assist Mpumalanga businesses to increase penetration into product markets in order to increase exports to R300 million for 2013/14 year, thereafter increasing by an average 35% per year to 2016.
Investment Promotion – to facilitate and promote domestic and foreign direct investment
Strategic Objective: To assist business to increase penetration into product markets in order to increase exports to R 300 million for 2013/14, thereafter increasing by average 35% per year to 2016.
Highlights
MEGA hosted the Ehlanzeni Business Forum in Mbombela on Wednesday the 4th February 2015 which attracted 91business people from the region. The purpose of the event was to brief the business community on the Agency’s current initiatives and to increase awareness of MEGA’s different operational divisions and their respective services.
The Trade and Investment Division facilitated an Exporter Training Workshop in Mbombela rom the 4 th to 6 th February 2015. MEGA in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) invited both emerging and potential exporters for a Planning for Exports Training Workshop as part of the National Exporter Development Programme (NEDP) which prepares SMEs for the successful expansion of their businesses into international markets.
The training was conducted for three days and covered Export Strategic Planning, Export Logistics, Export Costing, Packaging and Labelling, Feasibility Analysis, and Negotiation Techniques.
MEGA hosted a delegation of 12 South African Foreign Marketing Officers (FMO’s) in Mpumalanga Province on 4th and 5th February 2015. Foreign Marketing Officers are stationed at all the South African Embassies and High Commissions where the dti has an economic office. They are usually foreign nationals employed by the dti and report to the South African Economic Consul stationed at the Mission. The Foreign Marketing Officers are a key resource for South Africa’s Trade and Investment Promotion as they are permanently employed in their respective foreign missions – are not changed every four years – and as “locals” they have language, cultural, business intelligence and contacts skills which can be very useful for South African exporters. The Marketing Officers from 12 different SA Foreign Missions (Brussels; Harare; Kampala; Kuala Lumpur; Addis Ababa; Tokyo; Toronto; Chicago; Luanda; Moscow; Ankara; Dubai) visited Mpumalanga Province as part of their Orientation Programme which focuses on a better understanding of the South African Economy, its exports and investment priorities and key sectors in the different provinces. MEGA took the opportunity to give the Foreign Marketing Officers a better understanding of our provincial economy, the challenges faced by the companies operating in Mpumalanga and to brief them on pertinent issues in respect to their designated markets. On Wednesday afternoon the FMO’s were briefed by MEGA, Subtrop, MCLI, SANparks, MTPA and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. On Wednesday night they were hosted for a bush braai in the KNP. On Thursday they visited TSB and Cape Fruit Processors before departing for Limpopo Province.
MEGA participated at the South African National Pavilion held at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2015 which took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town from the 9 to 12 February 2015.
MEGA’s Trade and Investment Promotion Division participated in the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) led Outward Selling and Investment Mission to East Africa form the 15th to 21st February 2015. The Trade and Investment Mission targeted the East African Markets of Kenya Tanzania. Fifty-five trade enquiries were received and in response some local companies are already in business discussions with the East African counterparts.
