Buy Local Campaign Launch
We were excited to launch our #buylocal campaign, which celebrates and supports the entrepreneurial spirit of the KZN South Coast. While we are known for our Blue Flag Beaches, dive sites, nature reserves, and great outdoor offerings, the KZN South Coast has so much more to offer! Our fertile land means farm-to-fork organic food supplies, from fruits and vegetables to coffee beans, while our local craftsmen and manufacturers are producing world-class goods right on our doorstep. The benefits of buying local include social, environmental, and health factors, while ensuring our economy remains resilient and self-sustaining. We are encouraging our SCTIE members to sign up, free of charge until 2025, for Buy Local membership. Criteria for membership include: At least 50% of the cost of production or services must be incurred with the KZN South Coast, The product or service must meet high-quality standards, The business must create or intend to create employment opportunities for people on the KZN South Coast. To find out more or sign up as a Buy Local member, simply click this link, use our online enquiry – or contact Londiwe@sctie.co.za or 039 6827944. If you know of potential investment opportunities along the KZN South Coast that would benefit from SCTIE support, please contact SCTIE on 039 682 7944 or email info@sctie.co.za. A new tab has been added to www.investkznsouthcoast.co.za if you want SCTIE to contact you for consideration. You can visit the site to find out more about our investment opportunities or visit the KZN South Coast’s One-Stop Shop.
Growth Sectors
Property As a prime coastal destination and considering the massive demand for coastal properties in the domestic and international markets, property is a significant growth sector on the KZN South Coast. We are working with local estate agencies and developers to highlight the real estate investment opportunities for this region. Find out more about our property developments here. Available Land for Investment On 6 February, the team visited 12.4 hectares of prime land in Shelly Beach, ideally suited to developing an upmarket, lifestyle village which is so in demand along the KZN coastline. The site is zoned special residential 3, permitting 21 to 40 dwellings per hectare – 330 units in total. The site has 42 existing units generating income through sales and rental. We have engaged with a KZN South Coast agent to discuss packaging available property development projects. Manufacturing The well-established agricultural sector and logistical advantages on the KZN South Coast are beneficial for our manufacturing sector. We have identified two areas that pose significant investment potential and will continue to develop these and more. We welcome any further input, leads, and information sharing with a view to partnering with businesses across a variety of sectors, so please do contact us. Below are some examples of recent site visits: Textiles In an effort to package our textile sector, we visited an emerging textile manufacturer, Cengamajita Fashion & Entertainment (CMT) on 2 February 2023 . This informative tour not only gave us a chance to accurately profile the sector, while presenting possible avenues of support, it was a chance to present our #buylocal campaign and the many benefits to the sector. Furnishers We identified a local furnisher, Out of Wood, as a targeted project for the launch of our #buylocal campaign. We visited the site to profile and better understand the entire value chain of the furniture sector to identify growth opportunities. Considering the scale of this sector, we have arranged a follow-up meeting with the raw material suppliers for further insight.
Investment Facilitation
One Stop Shop Our partnership with Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) saw the establishment of a One Stop Shop (OSS) in the KZN South Coast last quarter, and favourable feedback has been received from the demand assessment performed. To refine our services further, the SCTIE investment team visited the TIKZN OSS and Special Economic Zone at Dube Trade Port OSS on 10 February 2023. Through this visit, we have been able to benchmark the services recommended by the assessment demand report alongside these existing operations. The TIKZN OSS presented both digital services and physical consultation services that the offices offer for businesses, which will be considered for the Ugu District One Stop Shop. Umzumbe River Trail Our successful launch of the Umzumbe River Trail rural tourism project has provided significant investor opportunities. This quarter, we focused on identifying a site for the establishment of a lodge along the trail. Umzumbe Local Municipality’s Town Planning Unit was engaged for their expertise on this project, with three potential sites identified. Following the screening process, two sites were confirmed as potential tourism development zones. Further to this, the planning team expressed interest in joining SCTIE on a benchmarking exercise in the Eastern Cape from 6 to 9 March 2023, organised by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA).
Research and Development
We recently started Investment Prospectus research, a project that will span three months, collecting data from various strategic economic drivers within the KZN South Coast. The main objectives of this sub-district level investment research will focus on ‘Investment Promotion’, ‘Business Retention/ Expansion’ and ‘Export opportunities’. A full copy of the research findings will be available on our website, once completed.
Website and Digital Update
Social Media Our social media platforms are currently shared between tourism and investment with a current focus on driving investment engagement content. We are achieving this through continuous updates on investment, specifically around ‘Buy-Local’, ‘Port Shepstone Techno Hub’, ‘Unlimited Opportunities to Invest’ and ‘Play here, Stay here’ coverage. In the last year, we have noted exponential growth across all our social media sites with the data and analytics showing a 136% spike, and almost 1 million ‘impressions’ online. Audiences are responding positively to the content being shared as the engagements, too, have seen an astounding 859% increase at 45 997 engagements and 3 587 Post Link Clicks. On Facebook (Meta), our ‘Page Likes’ have escalated organically from around 4 000 to close to 10 000, with the number of ‘Followers’ almost matching this number. We aim to sustainably grow this audience engagement by ‘boosting’ posts and using paid campaigns going forward. We are also considering a presence on the social media platform Tik Tok in the coming months to promote tourism through short-form videos. Information can also be found by visiting South Coast Tourism on Facebook; South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise on YouTube; @infosouthcoast on Twitter or Instagram; South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise on LinkedIn. Website The signing of our MOU with MasterCard has allowed us to explore e-commerce and other digital opportunities for the SCTIE websites, encouraging further investment opportunities with our digital resources. Our local businesses will enjoy digitisation that keeps operating costs down while attracting new investment. One example is the Tap on Phone app, which turns a smart phone into a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) device, allowing for cashless transactions for all traders and potential future business investments into the KZN South Coast. This cost-effective digital solution allows for cardless transactions of all currencies, ensuring ease of business operations from business-to-customer and business-to-business offerings. You can find out more about the MasterCard MOU benefits in our dedicated press release. Keeping website content fresh and relevant is vital, which is why we update the site weekly. We have also restructured the destination website landing page, to include our Buy Local Campaign and Buy Local Membership, all of which are backlinked to our Invest KZN South Coast website. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) We continue to prioritise SEO on our website to drive audiences to our online offerings. This strategy is showing results, as both the investment and SCTIE website’s engagement have more than doubled since its inception from September 2022 to February 2023. The keyword ‘KZN South Coast’ has organically reached Page One Ranking. We believe the introduction of additional SEO articles through analytical recommendations, considering competitor ranking and keywords has contributed to this upward trend. Explore the KZN South Coast app We have connected the app with the destination website, so that it functions using one Content Management System (CMS), which allows us to cost-effectively update information across the app, as it is done on the website, daily. Elements from the Buy Local campaign are linked to the investment website and made available through this platform. Database We have restructured and updated our internal, POPI Act-compliant database, adding new categories, to diversify our communication efforts through SMS, newsletters, and other push notifications. In doing this, we are reaching KZN South Coast organisations, municipal representatives, and strategic partners, helping to grow tourism and investment opportunities, where possible. We have been consistently updating the investment communication contacts from various sectors so that the newsletter and other communications are reaching the right audiences. We are also growing our #buylocal database and will continue to include member details going forward.
Advertising Update
We are taking the time to build up our investment-focused content and marketing collateral while focusing on advertising in niche markets. This quarter, the advertising material included: Buy Local A5 Flyer South Coast Herald Buy Local Advert and Editorial Investment Adverts in South Coast Herald and Kokstad Advertiser Property Developments showcased in the Inflight and Premier magazines About Us Brochure #UnlimitedOpportunities Advertising InFlight and Premier magazines
Public Relations Update
We have shared these #unlimitedopportunities, as well as the #buylocal campaign, with the public through dedicated media releases. With the investment portfolio still being developed, we are focusing on specific growth sectors for each quarter while targeting specialised media outlets. Through our efforts, we received free exposure in several publications, including South Africa Today, My Durban, Marketing Spread, Rising Sun (Chatsworth), My Pressportal, the South Coast Weekly Gazette, and South Coast Herald, among others. We also shared the #buylocal messaging with an interview on Radio Sunny South. Press releases issued 13 December 2022 to 6 March 2023 Unlimited Opportunities to Invest in Tourism on KZN South Coast (1 February 2023) Play Here, Stay Here – why the KZN South Coast property market is on the up (16 February 2023) Port Shepstone Techno Hub brings significant investment potential to the KZN South Coast (22 February 2023) Launch of the #buylocal campaign to support local businesses on the KZN South Coast (1 March 2023) There was a total of 90 coverage clippings with an advertising value equivalent (AVE) figure of R2 488 436 measured by media monitoring agency Newsclip. This includes: Print coverage valued at R899 450 Online media coverage valued at R1 588 986
Exhibitions and Engagements
We relish the opportunity to partake in exhibitions and trade shows that allow us to identify investment opportunities and trends, while networking with potential investors, operators, and stakeholders interested in the South African market. Africa Energy Indaba From 7 to 9 March, SCTIE’s investment team attended the 15th Africa Energy Indaba hosted at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The indaba, which is one of the continent’s longest-standing premier energy events, is an important opportunity to engage with African energy ministers and potential investors in the renewable energy sector. In light of Eskom’s Just Energy Transition, and the significant tax incentives for renewable energy investment announced in the Budget Speech, this is an area of investment that must be explored. The KZN South Coast, with its high number of sunshine days, access to the Indian Ocean, and wind potential, is well positioned for renewable energy production. Through the conference, B2B Connect Lounge, and networking function, SCTIE will actively explore business opportunities across the continent and internationally. SCTIE Strategy Planning Review 2023/2024 On 9 February, we hosted an internal Strategy Planning Review at St Michael’s Hotel. SCTIE staff, board members, and representatives from district and local municipalities engaged collectively, to plan a way forward regarding marketing, investment, new resources for SMEs and other imperative objectives to enhance and position the KZN South Coast event more favourably. This was followed up by a second session on 22 February, attended by various business associations representing different sectors and Tourism Area Committees. These engagements were a productive opportunity to discuss SCTIE’s goals and objectives while making necessary adjustments for the upcoming year.
Marketing Update
Marketing Campaign This quarter, we attracted investor attention through our Unlimited Opportunities marketing campaign, using the hashtags #unlimitedopportunities #investkznsouthcoast #investment #kznsouthcoast. We used this campaign to really highlight the many investment opportunities found from the coast to the hinterland, across a number of key sectors which are outlined below. Marketing Collateral We have been working tirelessly to build up an image bank that accurately promotes the destination’s key investment sectors. Further photoshoots are planned to ensure we have updated imagery of the latest offerings. Our existing SCTIE-branded USBs will be shared with potential investors at activations at relevant events. These include the A5 digital investment brochure and other relevant marketing collateral which are available online.