One of the serious obstacles to any efforts promoting economic development in Nelson Mandela Bay has been the absence of credible research, not only in its availability but also its accessibility and ease of use for various stakeholders, including local business.
Although much has been said and written about the competitiveness of the metro, there has never been a sustained structured and collective approach undertaken by the key stakeholders to monitor and enhance the competitiveness of our city as a destination for tourism, trade and investment.
In line with our vision, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber is privileged to lead and serve this research agenda. In fact, one of the key findings of the Business Chamber’s 2017 Business Barometer was that all respondents agreed that the Business Chamber should establish a research unit to meet this need.
The task of the Research and Development Unit is a clear one: to provide first-class research and business intelligence to underpin and inform the City’s investment, trade and tourism promoting functions.
We will be leveraging and enhancing our existing partnerships across big and small business, academia and government, to ensure that the research produced, provided and co-ordinated by the unit will enable an effective approach to trade, tourism and investment, and provide a base of business intelligence and insight for the development of essential clusters, as well as for our member companies to make well-informed decisions.
Some of our most recent in-house reports:
The long-term economic impact of water security in Nelson Mandela Bay (22 June 2020)
Provides an investor-focused summary of a two-year study simulating the long-term impact of water scarcity and water security on the economy of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Statistical release: How many businesses are there in Nelson Mandela Bay (22 June 2020)
Provides key figures and estimates of the size and composition of Nelson Mandela Bay's business community (or ‘business population’), as at December 2019.
Economic Overview: Nelson Mandela Bay (15 May 2020)
Provides an investor-focused overview of the economy and investment climate of Nelson Mandela Bay. Provides the latest facts and figures on the performance and composition of local industry and exports, as well as highlighting key trends in socio-economic data such as population growth and human capital.
"Target market": how many people live and work in Nelson Mandela Bay? (15 May 2020)
Provides key figures and estimates on the size of Nelson Mandela Bay's population and labour force.
Impact of COVID-19 and the national lockdown on Nelson Mandela Bay's business sector (15 May 2020)
Latest results from an on-going study which reflects the extent to which the local business sector has been impacted over the period: 30 March – 22 April 2020. Complements research produced at a national and provincial level.
Crime trends of Nelson Mandela Bay (11 May 2020)
Highlights key short and long term trends in Nelson Mandela Bay's criminal activity, compiling police (SAPS) data reported at station-level for 2018/19.
