The EU, which announced a €12-billion investment package for South Africa in October, is undertaking investment roadshows in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban this week as part of efforts to convert the high-profile investment pledge into firm projects.
The EU and South Africa signed the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP) in November last year, alongside a memorandum of understanding on sustainable minerals and metal value chains.
The CTIP is aligned with the bloc’s Global Gateway strategy to mobilise investment for infrastructure and selected industries in developing regions, as well as the EU’s €8.7-billion support for South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.
The EU is also supporting the roll-out of digital infrastructure and the building of a South African pharmaceuticals value-chain through the Global Gateway strategy.
The CTIP with South Africa focuses primarily on clean industry and energy sectors, including: renewable energy and low-carbon technologies; electricity transmission infrastructure; clean fuels, including sustainable transport fuels; raw materials and mineral value chains; as well as climate mitigation an adaptation technologies.
The roadshow kicked off at the JSE in Johannesburg on June 1 and 2, with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and EU Ambassador to South Africa Sandra Kramer both expressing optimism that investors would be able to conclude partnerships that could result in concrete projects.
Roadshows were scheduled for Cape Town on June 3 and 4, as well as Durban on June 5.
In his address, Tau said the CTIP arose from a joint recognition that trade between South Africa and the EU was not enough and that higher levels of investment were also needed.
“The Global Gateway Investment Package gives us the capital framework. This roadshow gives us the project pipeline,” Tau said.
He added that South Africa and Europe had an opportunity to jointly develop new industries, many of which were being underpinned by decarbonisation objectives, and strengthen value chains, particularly in the area of critical minerals.
“Our objective is not to export raw materials. Our objective is beneficiation, processing and industrial development on South African soil,” the Minister said, while highlighting South Africa’s endowments of platinum group metals, manganese, vanadium and other strategic minerals.
Kramer said that the events in the three cities would bring together development finance institutions, other investors and European and South African companies to promote specific project opportunities in South Africa.
She reported that 200 companies would participate, alongside ten financial institutions.
The investment prospects were not identified, but closed sessions had been scheduled across all three events to allow for these to be pitched.
“It’s not just talking shop,” the ambassador insisted.
“We are bringing the investors to businesses across the country [and] we are demonstrating how our investment tools can concretely result in investments in priority projects that ensure scale and impact,” she said.
The roadshows follow on for the inaugural EU-South Africa Energy Dialogue and Business Forum, which took place in Brussels in May, and will be followed by the first EU-South Africa government-to-government engagements on CTIP in early July.