One week left to apply for R5 million export booster fund

There is one week left to apply for the Western Cape Government’s Export Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (ECEP), which closes on Friday 30 June 2023 at midnight.

The Fund aims to support businesses that are export-ready or working towards export readiness to meet international market requirements.

“One of the key priority areas of our new ‘Growth for Jobs’ Strategy is to drive the expansion of proudly Western Cape exports. We do this because our research shows that if we can increase exports by 10%, we can generate an estimated additional R6 billion to the Western Cape Gross Domestic Product, creating many more jobs in the province.” said Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger.

The focus of the programme will be on developing and investing in the capacity of businesses to unlock export opportunities through a structured process, such as business turnaround or business improvement, and on improving the entrepreneur's skills and the business's competitive position in relation to scale and efficiency. It will also position the business to expand into current markets as well as new market opportunities.

Interventions target specific businesses and provide support mechanisms to improve the capability, competitiveness, productivity, and export growth of these businesses.  

The Fund will support the following activities:

• Product reformulation and refinement.
• International packaging, labelling, and printing requirements.
• International product certification and standards for international market access.
• Product registration with relevant international bodies in export markets
• International nutritional analysis
• Specialised shipping requirements

For more information, please visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/site-page/economic-sector-support-export-competitiveness-enhancement-programme#overlay-context=user

“As we enter the final week for applications for the Export Enhancement Fund, I urge businesses who have yet to apply, to do so. Having just returned from the United States of America, I can say that there certainly is a great interest in Western Cape products, and I look forward to helping businesses get their goods on many more shelves across the world.” concluded Minister Wenger.