Trade and Sector Development

Trade and Sector Development in the Western Cape

The Trade and Sector Development Programme focuses on stimulating economic growth through industry development, and trade and investment promotion.

The Trade and Sector Development Programme is a central pillar of the Department and is primarily guided by the philosophy of supporting demand-led growth, driven by the  private sector. This is achived through the development of internal specialist capacity to analyse, intervene and provide guidance to the province's sectoral programme.

A key mechanism for delivery is the use of sector bodies or Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that represent industry, academia and government (as well as any other key role players). The Department currently supports 12 SPVs across a range of manufacturing, service and agri-business sectors.

The other functions of the programme include the funding and oversight of Wesgro as the trade and investment promotion agency, and the development of strategic intiatives that have a significant impact on the regional economy.

To this end, the framing objectives of the Trade and Sector Development Programme are to grow employment and stimulate growth in the economy through facilitating an enabling environment for economic development and providing leadership to key sectors.

Programme Structure

The Trade and Sector development Programme consists of three sub-programmes:

• Trade and Investment Promotion
• Sector Development
• Strategic Initatives

Guide to Sector Development

Click here to read more about Trade and Sector Development.