Cape Town’s manufacturing community will come together on 11 November 2026 for the Cape Town Manufacturing Summit, a flagship gathering focused on strengthening the competitiveness, resilience and growth of manufacturing in Cape Town and the Western Cape and unlocking the region’s potential as a manufacturing and export gateway into Africa.

The Summit will bring together manufacturers, business leaders, government, investors, buyers, exporters and industry stakeholders to tackle the issues that will determine the future of the sector, while creating a platform for new partnerships, investment and business opportunities.

Manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the Western Cape economy. It is the third-largest contributor to the provincial economy and accounts for approximately 15% of economic activity, with strengths spanning food and beverage production, clothing and textiles, marine manufacturing and boatbuilding, electronics, cosmetics, machinery and increasingly green technology manufacturing.

The sector is also a significant employer. Approximately 337,000 people are employed in manufacturing across the Western Cape, demonstrating the industry's importance not only to economic growth but also to livelihoods and job creation.

AFRICA REPRESENTS THE NEXT GREAT MARKET OPPORTUNITY

Beyond the domestic market lies an even greater opportunity: Africa.

The continent’s growing population, expanding cities, infrastructure requirements, industrialisation ambitions and developing consumer markets are creating increasing demand for manufactured and value-added goods.

For Western Cape manufacturers, geographic proximity and established trade relationships provide an important competitive advantage. Cape Town and the Western Cape already export billions of rand worth of products into African markets, but the potential to substantially expand manufactured exports remains significant.

The Western Cape is particularly well positioned to become a manufacturing gateway into the continent. Its established manufacturing base, skilled workforce, sophisticated business environment and access to maritime and air transport provide manufacturers with a platform from which to access regional markets.

The opportunity extends beyond simply exporting more of what the province already produces. It is about manufacturing more value-added products in the Western Cape specifically for growing African markets.

WESTERN CAPE EXPORTS ARE ALREADY GROWING

The province enters this next phase from a position of increasing export strength.

Western Cape goods exports grew from R160.9 billion in 2021 to R219.7 billion in 2025 – an increase of more than 36% in five years.

African markets are already an important part of this export story, with countries including Namibia and Zimbabwe among the Western Cape’s leading and growing export destinations.

The opportunity now is to accelerate this momentum by helping more Western Cape manufacturers identify new markets, increase production, build regional partnerships and take advantage of improving continental market access.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) adds another important dimension to this opportunity. As barriers to intra-African trade are progressively addressed, manufacturers that establish strong regional distribution networks and commercial relationships will be better positioned to participate in Africa’s future growth.

FROM MANUFACTURING IN CAPE TOWN TO SELLING ACROSS AFRICA

The Cape Town Manufacturing Summit will therefore look beyond the factory floor.

Discussions will address the critical factors required to make Cape Town and the Western Cape an increasingly competitive manufacturing and export hub, including:

• industrial policy and investment;
• energy security and resilience;
• infrastructure and logistics;
• technology, automation and Industry 4.0;
• access to finance;
• localisation and supply-chain development;
• export growth and market access; and
• positioning Cape Town as a manufacturing gateway into Africa.

The central question is simple:

How do we enable more products to be manufactured in Cape Town and sold across Africa and the world?

INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT MUST WORK TOGETHER

The future competitiveness of manufacturing will require close cooperation between the private sector and all spheres of government.

Recent City initiatives have reinforced manufacturing as an economic priority, while partnerships across Cape Town’s priority growth sectors – including marine manufacturing, clothing and textiles and green manufacturing – contributed to broader programmes supporting 15,948 direct jobs and R18.9 billion in investment during the 2025/26 financial year.

This momentum demonstrates what can be achieved when government, industry and investment promotion work together around common economic objectives.

The Cape Town Manufacturing Summit is designed to strengthen that collaboration by bringing decision-makers into the same room to identify practical opportunities for investment, expansion, exports and job creation.

CAPE TOWN’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR IS COMING TOGETHER

For manufacturers, suppliers, investors and businesses serving the industrial economy, the Summit represents an opportunity to engage directly with the people shaping the future of manufacturing in the region.

Companies can participate as delegates, exhibitors, sponsors and industry partners.

Cape Town’s manufacturing sector is coming together. The question is: will your organisation be there?

Cape Town Manufacturing Summit
11 November 2026 | Cape Town

ONE DAY. ONE ROOM. AN ENTIRE MANUFACTURING MARKET.