The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will host the Team Export South Africa (TESA) workshop at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in Midrand from Tuesday, 25 October to Wednesday, 26 October 2016. The workshop which targets Export Councils from all the provinces, government departments in the three spheres of government as well as stakeholders in the export value-chain will be addressed by the Director-General of the dti, Mr Lionel October.

According to Mr October, TESA is a platform that brings together all South African stakeholders that are involved in developing and promoting exports and exporters which includes the dti, provincial departments of economic development, provincial trade agencies, Export Councils, Metro Municipalities and other role players in the export value chain.

“The event is held once a year to discuss current global and local developments that have an impact of growth of exports from the country. The 2016 event has a theme: Exports as a driver for economic growth and employment,” says Mr October.

He adds that with the domestic economy projected to achieve less than 1% growth in 2016, growth in exports can provide a stimulus for growth in productive output in some of key targeted sectors that include agro-processing, manufacturing and defence industries.

Mr October says the event will be structured into 4 discussion panels that focus on the following topics:

• Institutional Arrangements by Government Institutions to promote growth in exports: This session aims to discuss ways that limited government resources can be deployed to make the most impact on growth of exports.
• Institutional Arrangements by Private Enterprises to promote growth in exports: This session aims to discuss ways that enterprises can group themselves to be better prepared to compete in export markets.
• Africa as an export market: What Opportunities and Challenges do South African companies face when doing business in the rest of the continent. What can SA Incorporated do to improve its competitive position on the continent.
• Export Support Measures: Most countries provide funding to stimulate their targeted growth sectors.  What measures could be applicable for SA?

The workshop is part of the department’s strategy to ensure collaboration between government and business in growing the economy through increasing exports of South African products into other parts of the world.

 

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry