President Cyril Ramaphosa has intensified efforts to attract strategic investment into South Africa’s key growth sectors, holding a series of high-level bilateral meetings with global and local industry leaders on the sidelines of the Sixth South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The engagements, held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Tuesday, focused on unlocking investment in agriculture, automotive manufacturing, digital technology and the creative industries, sectors identified as critical to driving inclusive economic growth and job creation.
During a meeting with Chairman and Group CEO of UPL Limited, Jai Shroff, discussions centred on expanding agro-processing capacity, strengthening agricultural inputs and supporting climate-smart farming.
The partnership aims to position South Africa as a regional hub for agricultural inputs and agro-processing, while supporting emerging farmers and boosting food security through innovation.
President Ramaphosa also met with Anant Singh of Videovision Entertainment to explore opportunities in the creative economy. Talks focused on investment in film studios and infrastructure, enhancing film incentives and promoting South Africa as a leading global filming destination.
The collaboration is expected to support skills development, tourism and international co-productions, further strengthening the country’s film and television sector.
In the automotive space, the President engaged Andrew Kirby of Toyota South Africa Motors on advancing investments in green mobility.
Discussions included hybrid electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies, local battery assembly and supplier development, with a shared goal of positioning South Africa as a regional leader in sustainable automotive manufacturing.
A separate meeting with Charlie Zhang of Chery Auto reinforced this ambition, with both parties committing to expand collaboration in vehicle assembly, exports and green mobility solutions to drive industrial growth and job creation.
The President also prioritised the digital economy, meeting with Kojo Boakye of Meta Platforms to discuss expanding digital infrastructure, supporting small businesses and scaling digital skills programmes.
The partnership aims to enhance digital inclusion and position South Africa as a leading innovation hub on the continent.
In a similar vein, President Ramaphosa held talks with Kabelo Makwane of Google, focusing on investments in cloud infrastructure, data centres and artificial intelligence.
The collaboration is expected to accelerate SME development and strengthen the country’s digital capabilities, supporting entrepreneurship and long-term economic growth.
Collectively, the bilateral engagements signal government’s push to diversify investment across sectors while aligning with its broader agenda of industrialisation, digital transformation and sustainable development. – SAnews.gov.za
