From its understated headquarters at The Marine Building, former site of one of Durban's most stately old hotels, Trade & Investment KwaZulu Natal (TIKZN) is efficiently fulfilling its mandate: to promote the province as an investment destination. And promoting trade by helping regional companies to identify markets and export their products.
Says the agency's CEO Zamo Gwala: "We have the best roads and good telecommunications infrastructure, two harbours - Durban and Richards Bay - terrific tourism, and when our new international airport has been completed, our combined strengths will play a considerable role in attracting even more investment to the province."
WHAT IT MEANS
 Striving for highest possible standards
Sending positive messages about SA
|
Funded by the provincial government and reporting directly to local finance & economic development MEC Zweli Mkhize, the section 21 company was established five years ago.
It has its own board of directors representing various stakeholders such as key industries, local government and the labour movement, and a staff complement of 34, mostly from marketing, investment promotion, strategy and research and project management backgrounds.
Gwala believes constant emphasis on professionalism in how the province is represented, "and how we manage relationships with all our clients", is critical.
"It's all very well setting up negotiations with international players, declaring ourselves ready to deal with them, but if they come here and are disappointed, it damages the image of the province. We can't have that. We have to strive for the highest possible standards in everything we do. That applies not only to the manner in which we welcome potential investors to the country, but also the standards of products we want to export.
"TIKZN's mandate is two-pronged," says Gwala. "It is to assist local exporters and to drive foreign and domestic investment in KwaZulu Natal."
The agency's main objective is to attract direct investment into the province worth more than R50m/transaction.
The challenge begins when global companies take the important step to invest in this country.
Attracting overseas investors requires sending as much information and data as possible to foreign offices around the world.
"If and when an international company expresses interest, we send delegations, from TIKZN as well as the private sector, to talk about the province and woo that organisation. If its interest is triggered further and it sends a return delegation, we host them, introduce them to relevant local businesses, show them around the province - the ports, the harbours, the roads, the tourism possibilities. Depending on the sector in which they are interested, we also link them up with representatives from those in the industry who can share successes so that if they decide to invest in our province, they can see it will be sustainable to do business in KwaZulu Natal.
"Our task is also to ensure they comply with SA rules and regulations, and that such compliance does not become a stumbling block to investments. We help potential investors with simple things like visa applications, introduce them to the relevant municipalities, even assist them with applying for their telephone lines. Equally important is educating them on SA tax and labour laws and black economic empowerment.
"We work very closely with a number of partners, without whom we would not be able to offer complete solutions to potential investors. We have realised such relationships and partnerships are critical in easing the process of bringing investments into the province."
The first question investors ask is what incentives they will receive for investing in the province, says Gwala.
"If you were to invest in some Eastern countries, you would pay no tax for the first five years. Neither would your workers pay income tax.
"We might not offer similar incentives, but there are various incentives offered by the department of trade & industry as well as municipalities," he says. The other competitive advantage in SA is cheaper electricity and labour rates, which also add to the appeal for investors."
