Nonprofit organisation GreenCape and tourism, trade and investment promotion agency Wesgro have teamed up with several partners to pivot support to local green small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) so that they can continue to build international relationships and secure trade opportunities, despite travel restrictions, supply chain disruptions and Covid-19-related lockdowns.
The other partners include research institute Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (Tips), Tralac, Trade Advisory and the International Cleantech Network.
Insights from initial resilience research engagement with a database of green SMMEs led to the development of a set of designed interventions, including a deep dive into the opportunities presented by the European Green Deal for local green SMMEs who have been able to pivot their business models to “trade without travel.”
Insights from the development of the interventions were shared during two events organised with the financial support of the European Union’s (EU’s) Partnership Instrument and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in the context of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
The first event was a webinar hosted earlier this month for green SMMEs. The webinar highlighted how South African green SMMEs can prepare to use trade opportunities presented by the European Green Deal.
It also looked at and highlighted global opportunities for local green SMMEs.
“"As the world tackles climate change, preserves biodiversity and adopts more sustainable forms of production, the green economy is poised to become an important engine of growth. With COP26 on the horizon, South Africa continues to advocate for a just transition that benefits all, including communities that risk being left behind," said special economic adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trudi Makhaya, in her opening address.
She also emphasised the importance of supporting green industrialisation in key sectors such as renewable energy, green mobility and green hydrogen, and ensuring that SMMEs are included in these new value chains.
“The European Green Deal opens an important market for SMMEs in the green economy,” she added.
Additionally, EU Delegation to South Africa deputy head Raul de Luzenberger said the EU internal market and the South African Development Community-EU Economic Partnership Agreement were creating unique opportunities for green SMMEs in South Africa.
“Let us use our strong South Africa-EU relations to their full potential.”
The second event was a workshop, on October 21, with regional trade and investment promotion agencies, discussing insights about how export promotion agencies have adapted their approaches to support companies during the pandemic.
“To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and of the South African Nationally Determined Contribution, the private sector in South Africa needs to invest, innovate, trade and create jobs within and for a green economy,” commented GreenCape and Wesgro green economy investment and finance liaison Lisa Johansson.
She stressed that, in a post-Covid world, “an entirely new system of trade opportunities will need to be realised for the private sector to make such a contribution”.