Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Our vision is to grow and shape a better future for the Western Cape’s economy sustainably.

Registered as the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Cape Chamber of Commerce has been championing the needs of business since 1804.

South Africa may need bold action in response to the surge in global e-commerce and a flood of duty-free micro-parcels.T...
17/09/2026

South Africa may need bold action in response to the surge in global e-commerce and a flood of duty-free micro-parcels.

The European Union has established a €3 (roughly R56) flat customs duty per item on low-value imports.

Products entering South Africa in small parcels are difficult to regulate, routinely bypassing the standard customs duties and import VAT applied to commercial shipping containers.

The exponential growth of low-value, direct-to-consumer micro-parcels has simply outpaced traditional border enforcement.

While SARS moved to align low-value parcel tariffs with standard commercial rates, practical enforcement remains hampered by administrative bottlenecks in processing high-volume micro-consignments.

Postponing enforcement or leaving compliance gaps open simply punishes compliant domestic producers.

Read the full CEO Column here: https://www.capechamber.co.za/latest-news/levelling-playing-field-sa-manufacturing-retail

The Cape Chamber has launched its detailed blueprint for Scaled Labour Intensive Manufacturing (SLIM) industrial parks. ...
16/09/2026

The Cape Chamber has launched its detailed blueprint for Scaled Labour Intensive Manufacturing (SLIM) industrial parks.

After nine months of research and collaboration, the Cape Chamber has launched SLIM.

The model brings together lower production and overhead costs, innovative work rhythms, skills development, proximity to communities, retailer demand and public-private cooperation.

For the clothing and textile concept, the potential is significant: 2,400 direct jobs, a further 12,000 jobs across the value chain, and an estimated R220million injected into the local economy through wages and salaries.

As Cape Chamber CEO John Lawson puts it, the individual pieces already exist.

The challenge is getting all the pieces of the puzzle to work together.

SLIM provides a blueprint for how that could happen.

Read the full story here: https://www.capechamber.co.za/latest-news/blueprint-manufacturing-competitiveness

There's an urgent need to reverse South Africa's manufacturing declineOur manufacturing sector needs help, at its height...
10/09/2026

There's an urgent need to reverse South Africa's manufacturing decline

Our manufacturing sector needs help, at its height the sector was the powerhouse of the economy, accounting for nearly 25% of national GDP.

It was the engine for formal urban employment, export diversification, and technological development.

Today it contributes only 11.5% of GDP.

It's also evident from the Cape Chamber's own Business Environment Survey (https://capechamber.co.za/2026-business-environment-survey-findings), which shows how local manufacturers are grappling with severe red tape and administrative friction.

According to one survey respondent, it took 12 documents and 50 pages to supply a paltry 10 washers.

With so much at stake, you'd think we would be doing everything we can to make manufacturing easier, not more difficult.

Read our full CEO Column here: https://capechamber.co.za/latest-news/urgent-need-reverse-sa-manufacturing-decline

SA ports affected by Durban anchorage waiting time of up to 23 days.Operational delays at the Port of Durban are impacti...
10/09/2026

SA ports affected by Durban anchorage waiting time of up to 23 days.

Operational delays at the Port of Durban are impacting Cape Town Port operations, adding to frustrations felt by local exporters.

Durban Port currently has a vessel bottleneck due to problems at its Gateway Terminal, which is operating under severe capacity constraints following the appointment of an international private terminal operator.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), a global port management company based in the Philippines, is reportedly battling severe equipment shortages, specifically straddle carriers needed to lift, move and stack shipping containers.

Read the full story here: https://capechamber.co.za/latest-news/durban-container-backlog-snarls-cape-town-port-operations-exporters-sound-alarm

Our 2026 Business Environment Survey found that two-thirds of manufacturing respondents say the regulatory compliance bu...
09/09/2026

Our 2026 Business Environment Survey found that two-thirds of manufacturing respondents say the regulatory compliance burden is seriously limiting their businesses.

(Survey findings: https://capechamber.co.za/2026-business-environment-survey-findings )

The same manufacturers rated the rules governing their own sector far less seriously: sector regulation and standards at 28.8 per cent of 52, the lowest reading of any of the eight reportable sectors and 17.7 points below the provincial average of 46.5 per cent.

Rae Wolpe, economist with Impact Economix which ran the survey analysis with the Bureau for Economic Research, said the survey showed manufacturers are not asking to be deregulated.

“Two-thirds of them rate the burden of complying as seriously limiting, but fewer than three in ten say the same about the standards their sector is held to, and that is the lowest reading of any sector in the survey.”

Read the full article here: https://capechamber.co.za/latest-news/excessive-regulatory-burden-stifling-manufacturing-growth

Last week, the energy at our Cape Town Central Chapter's Women's Month event proved how much shifts when you bring leade...
03/09/2026

Last week, the energy at our Cape Town Central Chapter's Women's Month event proved how much shifts when you bring leaders into the same room to focus on the human behind the brand.

This wasn’t just another passive networking event.

It was a space for honest conversation, strategic connection, and personal recalibration. We were fortunate to learn from three distinct perspectives:

- We listened to Sam Skyring’s inspiring journey of overcoming foundational hurdles to scale a business to global markets.

- We analyzed the structural importance of deep, trusted networks with Talitha Kotze, proving that your ecosystem is your greatest business asset.

- We paused and reset with Almarie Venter, who guided the entire room through a mindfulness and sound-healing session designed to return leaders to their desks with absolute clarity.

Thank you to everyone who attended for making it such a meaningful morning.

Keep your eye on our upcoming events here: https://capechamber.co.za/events

Unlocking potential and clearing the path for businesses big and small.Luxolo Cakata started his fashion business in Kay...
03/09/2026

Unlocking potential and clearing the path for businesses big and small.

Luxolo Cakata started his fashion business in Kayamandi with two sewing machines he bought while still working in a Stellenbosch restaurant.

Today, his journey is taking him much further.

After his story was featured by the Cape Chamber earlier this year, it was picked up by several local media outlets.

Now, Flying Solo, a fashion retail concept store and incubator in SoHo, Manhattan, has invited him to exhibit in New York.

It's an exciting opportunity, but Luxolo's story also illustrates something much bigger.

Small businesses don't grow in isolation.

They need access to networks, equipment, markets, information and opportunities. And they need a business environment that removes unnecessary barriers rather than adding to them.

Our 2026 Business Environment Survey is helping us identify those barriers and constraints with greater precision, from challenges at individual business and precinct level to sectoral and regional barriers: https://capechamber.co.za/2026-business-environment-survey-findings

Because, behind every constraint we remove could be another entrepreneur ready to expand, employ someone, enter a new market or take their business to the next level.

The potential already exists, we just need to help clear the path.

Read our full CEO Column here: https://www.capechamber.co.za/latest-news/unlocking-potential-clearing-path-businesses-big-and-small

Cape Town's biggest local business constraint isn't crime, it isn't electricity supply... It's traffic congestion!That's...
02/09/2026

Cape Town's biggest local business constraint isn't crime, it isn't electricity supply... It's traffic congestion!

That's one of the more surprising findings from the Cape Chamber's 2026 Business Environment Survey: https://capechamber.co.za/2026-business-environment-survey-findings

Within the City of Cape Town, 54.8% of businesses surveyed identified traffic congestion as a serious constraint — rising to 72.7% among businesses employing more than 200 people.

But the data reveals something even more important.

This isn't simply about commuters spending longer getting to work, congestion is hitting hardest where goods move!

Businesses in industrial precincts and business parks rated congestion significantly more seriously than those in commercial CBDs, pointing to a direct cost for manufacturing, logistics and the competitiveness of our economy.

As Impact Economix economist Rae Wolpe explains: “This is an industrial cost that requires urgent attention to enhance manufacturing competitiveness.”

Traffic, in other words, isn't simply a transport problem, it's a business growth problem.

Read the full story here: https://www.capechamber.co.za/latest-news/traffic-beats-crime-top-threat-ct-business

Meet some of the Cape Chamber's newest members!Running a business can feel incredibly isolating.When you are dealing wit...
02/09/2026

Meet some of the Cape Chamber's newest members!

Running a business can feel incredibly isolating.

When you are dealing with local infrastructure challenges, crime, power disruptions, transport delays or poor digital connectivity.

It's easy to feel like you're trying to solve every problem on your own.

But, you shouldn't have to.

At our recent New Member Onboarding session, we explored what happens when you plug into a network of businesses across different industries and communities throughout the Western Cape.

You gain more than contacts... you gain access to shared experience, different perspectives, opportunities to collaborate, and a stronger collective voice around the challenges affecting business.

To all the new members who joined us: WELCOME to the Cape Chamber!

What if one of the biggest constraints on economic growth isn't infrastructure, regulation or access to capital... but t...
01/09/2026

What if one of the biggest constraints on economic growth isn't infrastructure, regulation or access to capital... but trust?

When trust is low, deals take longer, partnerships stall, and good ideas struggle to move beyond the room where they were created.

For Dr Melvi Todd, the Cape Chamber's new Manager of Member Value, building stronger collaboration between business, government and communities is fundamental to creating economic opportunity.

And it's an idea that has followed her throughout her career from innovation strategy and research to exploring how competitors can collaborate to create shared economic value.

Now, her focus turns to the Cape Chamber's members, to underst what businesses need, and strengthen the value they receive.

Read more about the thinking she'll bring to her new role in the full Q&A: https://capechamber.co.za/latest-news/business-purpose-meet-dr-melvi-todd-cape-chambers-new-manager-member-value

Address

1 Canal Close, Century City
Cape Town
8001

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday 08:00 - 16:00
Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category