The Cape Trade Portal, supported by the ‘Made in the Cape’ marketing campaign, is proving successful in increasing Cape Town and the Western Cape product and service exports competitiveness through increased visibility in the UK.
Born out of the pandemic, the portal has digitised trade to provide ‘always-on’ access to quality Western Cape products and services to buyers across the globe. Officially launched in February this year, the portal is already home to over 600 exporters, listing over 3 000 goods and services. The Cape Trade Portal builds on lessons learned during crisis in the last few years. The scale and scope offered by digital platforms increases opportunities for exporters to connect with buyers. It builds on the Cape’s reputation as an exporting powerhouse of premium, competitive, diverse and quality goods.
Visit the Cape Trade Portal here: www.capetradeportal.com
Answering the outcome of extensive research and local exporter requests for increased marketing support, the Made in the Cape campaign was designed to position the province and build brand love for the destination in the hearts and minds of both consumers and buyers – using product to tell the authentic story of a place.
Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander, comments: “We are starting to see the green shoots of our regional marketing strategy efforts. With a unique reach of over
16 million targeted users in the UK alone, driving high quality leads to the portal, we are confident that we are both ensuring that the Cape’s products and services are accessible as well as becoming synonymous with quality, sustainability and trust. We have seen a promising uptick in engagements between buyers and sellers off the back of the integrated communication plan into market and we’re building on this momentum.”
The UK is the Western Cape’s third-largest export market, with exports totalling about £640 million (R12.5 billion) in 2021. Wine remains the largest exported product accounting for over 18% of total exports to the UK.
Following the positive uptake of the campaign by the UK market, Wesgro is preparing to launch a second Made in the Cape edition, this time in the US. The short-term goals include connecting the right buyers with Western Cape sellers, with a long-term aim to compete with the best region of origin brands globally. Building resilience builds competitiveness and Wesgro is committed to ensuring that Cape Town and the Western Cape remains a competitive, sought-after source market globally.
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, said: "We are committed and driven to ensure that Cape based companies get access to markets to help them with their business growth because then they employ more Capetonians. As such, the City has financially supported the Made in the Cape marketing campaign as it aligns to our goal in driving more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The Cape Trade Portal plays a vital role in deepening our collective efforts to connect international buyers to local sellers."
The Western Cape Government’s strategic plan for the next 5 years identifies growing exports as `a fundamental component to economic recovery.
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said: “By increasing trade and boosting the export of Western Cape goods and services, we increase the number of job opportunities in the province. Which is why we are a proud partner and funder of Wesgro and their work to expand current markets and to seek out new markets for proudly ‘Made in the Cape’ goods and services.”
She added: “What is particularly impressive about the ‘Made in the Cape’ campaign is that it has embraced the lessons we learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and has adopted an innovative approach to help local exporters expand their global footprint and increase their competitiveness through the online trade.”
Watch the Made in the Cape campaign video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvlswSaQLYQ
Calling all Western Cape exporters, please visit the portal to connect with the Wesgro Trade team.
The Made in the Cape campaign and the Cape Trade Portal are joint initiatives of Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town and Wesgro.