A Cape Town business has secured export deals worth more than R100 million, following a Western Cape Government trade mission earlier this year.
Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Opportunities, announced this week that GoMetro – which focuses on technology solutions for the public transport sector – had secured export deals with a range of firms in the United Kingdom (UK).
In May this year Winde led a trade mission to the United Kingdom – one of the Western Cape’s biggest trading partners – to further boost tourism, trade and investment. Ten companies joined the mission.
The province’s trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro, set up more than 100 meetings during the visit.
Baptiste Boittiaux, head of marketing at GoMetro, said: “We are expected to create R100 million in business in the UK over the next five years. Our goal is to implement flexible mobility in the region through our platform.
“We’ll be working closely with private organisations as well as the public sector, including municipalities and universities, in order to craft mobility solutions according to their needs and requirements. We are building a strong presence in the region to position GoMetro as the mobility expert to go to.”
Winde said the agreements further strengthened the Western Cape’s trade relationship with the UK, with Britain’s international trade secretary, Dr Liam Fox, meeting with Winde during his visit to SA last week to further discuss increasing trade, investment and tourism between the Western Cape and the UK.
“In 2016, the Western Cape exported goods to the United Kingdom worth US$628 million and the United Kingdom is the Western Cape’s second largest export destination,” Winde pointed out.
Wesgro CEO Tim Harris, added that Wesgro had “been on a mission” to remind British businesses that the Cape was a safe, secure trade and investment destination that could provide a stable base for them to grow new markets in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
“Our research ahead of this trip identified the UK as a market with strong demand for products and services that improve productivity, including ICT software and services that lower costs and improve business efficiencies, and GoMetro’s tremendous success during this trade mission confirmed its accuracy,” said Harris.
