It is fitting that the African tech weeks is taking place in Cape Town, the Digital Capital of Africa where we are increasingly becoming popular as the leading digital tech and innovation hub.

Professor Klaus Schwab said, ‘We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another. In its scale, scope and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.’

I firmly believe that we are well into this technological revolution and we have already seen major changes in the way we do business, the way we live, the way we travel, the way we communicate, the way we learn and the way we consume news – all because of technology and the rapid pace of innovation in the tech sector.

This conference will prove how African innovators are leading the way and breaking boundaries in this space. 

We are delighted to be hosting Africa Tech Week where I am certain we will see exciting trade exhibitions and an awards evening for African tech professionals. 

The City of Cape Town has leveraged technology for progress as one of our transformation goals and the tech industry has been identified as key sector for growth which we are investing in through skills development programmes for young people. 

Cape Town is fast becoming the focal point of innovation in Africa, with its numerous thinkers, innovators and design-led entrepreneurs.

Cape Town was ranked as Africa’s most innovative city in the 2016–2017 Innovation Cities Index and in 2018 we were again ranked as the number one African city in this Index and place at number three on the global list after Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

To achieve that accolade, the City of Cape Town implemented the necessary strategies, structures and partnerships, both inside and outside the City to positively affect a culture of innovation.

Because of its booming tech ecosystem, Cape Town has emerged a tech and innovation hub and as the leader in the information technology sector with more tech start-ups than anywhere in South Africa. 

The Ventureburn Tech Start-up Survey 2017, found that the majority of start-ups (47%) are based in the Western Cape, with Gauteng following at 44%. In addition, Cape Town has the largest telecommunications market and the most venture capital activity in South Africa, with 75% of the country’s venture capital deals.

According to the 2018 Ventureburn Tech Start-up Survey: Cape-based tech start-ups are more successful and generate significantly higher revenue than their counterparts in other parts of SA. The Western Cape, according to the survey, is seen as an attractive place to establish a successful start-up, with 36% of Western Cape start-ups reporting turning a profit or generating significant revenue in the past year, compared to 22% in Gauteng.

The tech sector is however more than just about being a crucial part of our emerging economies, in the African context, we need the tech sector and innovation to find specific African solutions to our unique challenges.

One of those challenges is high unemployment and in fulfilling our strategic objective to build an opportunity city, the City of Cape Town places huge emphasis on skills development and job creation in a number of high growth sectors such as the tech industry.

Just last week I visited the Cape IT Initiative’s CapaCiTi skills training programme where we are working with an NGO partner to invest in skills development for young people who want to pursue careers in tech. 

As a City we understand that cities are the centres of innovation and the engine rooms our economies. 

The City has invested R6,5million into this specific skills development programme to train 100 young people from previously disadvantaged areas.

This skills project is not just about empowering young people with technical knowledge in this sector but also sees them benefit from job readiness training that will provide them with the confidence to bridge into tech skilled jobs. 

As government we understand that our role is not to create jobs but rather to work with NGOs and the private sector and create an environment that is conducive to economic growth and job creation. 

We are therefore proud to work with institutions and to be at conferences such as these where we can strengthen our efforts to design learning programmes that address the growing tech skills shortage.

The training programme for these 100 students is structured in such a manner that it introduces the young people to entry-level information communication and technology infrastructure, and fundamental data analytics skills. The technical training component is offered for a period of six months, followed by the completion of a six-month stint as interns on work-related training placements.

Since July last year to date, 420 young people have been trained through this programme. The trained candidates are being placed in internships.  

We are now working to scale up to support a further 3 000 programme participants over the next three years. 

I was inspired to hear stories of young people who had been struggling to find employment and soon found permanent jobs in the tech sector soon after completing this training which is funded by the City of Cape Town. 

The investment in such skills training programmes is well aligned with the City’s current strategic imperative, namely the development of globally competitive tech and innovation sectors. 

Also, these investments in digital skills development aid us all in accomplishing our goal to create an opportunity city and to support the strategic objectives of Invest Cape Town, our business brand where we are actively going out to promote the city as a prime investment destination with a steady skills pipeline.

We are therefore the ideal place for this event to promote digital transformation by connecting government, corporates and fresh talent in the tech industry by bringing together over 300 key decision makers where peers can interact, learn from leading thought leaders and find the best solutions to catapult Africa into the digital age. 

According to an August 2018 Endeavour Insight report, the tech sector in greater Cape Town (incorporating Stellenbosch) includes between 450 and 550 entrepreneurial companies working in the software development, e-commerce, or fintech that collectively employ about 40 000 people. 

This makes Cape Town, Africa’s premier IT Hub. Africa Tech Week and as such the City of Cape Town is proud to support this event and host leading innovative thinkers in this space. 

Importantly, the Endeavour Insight Report cited “access to talent” as the major hurdle faced by Cape Town start-ups. We are pleased that this three-day expo; summit and awards ceremony has also drawn experienced international developers and tech recruiting firms to the Cape. 

The City of Cape Town is indeed working with key partners in the tech space to ensure that we build the skills pipeline and continue to hold the title of Silicon Cape.

The tech industry is an integral part of our efforts to build an opportunity city with a growing economy which builds skills and create much needed jobs. 

As a City we recognise that the Cape Town economy needs to keep on top of international trends. 

In a globalised world, the local economy is inextricably linked to the world economy. Importantly, we need to look at the changes that the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ will bring for the future of our city. 

We need to ensure that our citizens are adequately prepared and equipped for the economic realities of the future which are likely to include further automation and increased use of artificial intelligence.

Our investment into the tech industry has seen great results and we continue to be inspired by the returns our investment is making especially with the innovation coming from young people and women. 

In this current financial year, the City has made available R9,6 million in support of Cape IT Initiative (CiTi) programmes. This includes tech skills like coding, job-readiness training and career placement (CiTi’s growing CapaCiTi programme), business incubation support for women in business, CiTi’s work in support of the growth of the city’s township economy, and CiTi’s Education Technology cluster. 

There is the CiTi’s Top Tech Tools for Women in Business Programme, supported by the City of Cape Town. This programme supports small women-owned businesses and is run at the Woodstock and Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn. A total of 25 women have been trained through this programme at CiTi in Woodstock. 

So far this programme has delivered inspiring results and it is our hope that more women and young people look to this sector where they can use their energy and creativity to break through barriers using technology. 

CiTi’s CapaCiTi programmes have been running for eight years, with support from the City of Cape Town on a number of training projects.

These programmes equip young, unemployed South Africans with in-demand technical skill sets, alongside the 21st century business skills they’ll need for a career; then facilitates applied work experience through internships and job interview introductions. 

These programmes also provide the young participants with a powerful acceleration platform to launch their careers in Cape Town’s tech sector, and support growing SMEs and large corporates to source and support young, diverse talent to grow their business. 

CiTi is providing incredible support to Cape Town’s tech industry and, with the City’s support, it is playing a pivotal role in attracting more investment to the sector by building a strong skills base. 

Last year between January and June, CiTi supported 87 SMMEs and hosted 156 events to encourage debate and knowledge sharing among ICT industry players. 

In closing, our message is simple as the innovation and tech hub of Africa: We are open for business and ready to work with our partners across Africa to build connections through tech and innovation that will not only build our economies but help us find lasting solutions for a prosperous Africa. 

Thank you and once again, welcome to our beautiful city.