As international companies increasingly seek new destinations for global business services operations, Nelson Mandela Bay is positioning itself to secure a greater share of one of South Africa's fastest-growing export industries.
To accelerate this ambition, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has established a dedicated Global Business Services (GBS) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Sector Advancement Task Team under its Trade and Investment Desk. The initiative aims to strengthen the metro's competitiveness, attract new investment and unlock large-scale employment opportunities, particularly for young people, while supporting the diversification of the local economy beyond its traditional manufacturing base.
The global business services sector has become one of South Africa’s strongest-performing export industries, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs while generating billions of rand in export revenue each year. As international investors continue to diversify their service delivery locations, Nelson Mandela Bay has a significant opportunity to capitalise on this growth by leveraging its competitive operating costs, available commercial property, expanding talent pipeline and quality of life.
Guided by newly adopted Terms of Reference, the Task Team will provide strategic leadership to accelerate investment attraction, strengthen collaboration between industry and government, support both new entrants and expanding operators, develop and showcase the city’s unique value proposition through coordinated investor engagements, facilitate relationships with property developers, landlords and infrastructure partners to create BPO-ready environments that are available for immediate occupation, develop a sustainable skills pipeline, and advocate for incentives and reforms that remove barriers to growth.
The initiative brings together senior leaders from the GBS industry, professional services, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA), creating a unified platform to coordinate sector development, strengthen the investment ecosystem and position Nelson Mandela Bay as a preferred destination for local and international GBS investment.
As one of South Africa’s metros with the highest youth unemployment, Nelson Mandela Bay stands to benefit significantly from continued expansion of the sector, which has emerged globally as a major creator of large-scale employment opportunities. Through partnerships with universities, TVET colleges and training providers, the Task Team will work to develop a robust pipeline of work-ready talent capable of supporting future industry growth while creating meaningful career pathways for young people.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Chief Executive Officer Denise van Huyssteen said the establishment of the Task Team reflected the Chamber's commitment to building new economic sectors that could generate sustainable employment and strengthen the city’s long-term competitiveness.
“The GBS sector has demonstrated across the world that it can create jobs at scale, particularly for young people entering the labour market,” she said. “For Nelson Mandela Bay, this presents a significant opportunity to diversify our economy, build a modern knowledge-based industry and attract investment that delivers lasting economic value.”
Van Huyssteen said the success of the sector depended on far more than cost competitiveness.
“Today’s investors are looking for destinations that demonstrate collaboration, policy certainty, access to skilled talent, investment-ready infrastructure and a genuine commitment to enabling business growth. These Terms of Reference provide a clear framework for business, government and educational institutions to work together towards a shared vision that strengthens Nelson Mandela Bay's competitiveness and accelerates investment.”
Chairperson of the GBS and BPO Sector Advancement Task Team, Chumani Maqina, who is also Regional Manager of Outworx for the Cape Region and BPESA Regional Chair for the Eastern Cape, said Nelson Mandela Bay was uniquely positioned to become South Africa’s next major GBS growth destination.
“Global investors are looking beyond the country's traditional business centres, and Nelson Mandela Bay offers a compelling value proposition," he said. “We have high-quality commercial office space that remains competitively priced, capacity for immediate expansion, a growing pool of talented young people, strong tertiary education institutions and a collaborative business ecosystem committed to supporting investment.”
Maqina said the city's lifestyle advantages also strengthened its appeal in an increasingly competitive global market.
“Talent attraction and retention have become critical factors in investment decisions. Nelson Mandela Bay offers an exceptional quality of life, with a moderate climate, significantly lower traffic congestion, shorter commuting times and an affordable cost of living. These advantages not only enhance employee wellbeing but also contribute to greater productivity and lower operating costs for businesses. Combined with the work already being undertaken through this Task Team, we believe the metro is exceptionally well positioned to attract both local expansion and international investment.”
Beyond attracting new investment, the Task Team will focus on strengthening the broader business ecosystem by promoting investment-ready commercial property, enhancing professional support services, improving investor facilitation, measuring employment outcomes and advocating for policies that support sector expansion. It will also establish structured engagement with government to address regulatory and infrastructure constraints while promoting Nelson Mandela Bay as an investment-ready destination.
Van Huyssteen said the Chamber’s role extended beyond investment attraction to creating an enabling environment where businesses could establish, grow and thrive.
“This is about building an ecosystem where investment can flourish,” she said. "Every new GBS operation creates opportunities that extend well beyond the sector itself, stimulating demand for commercial property, technology, transport, professional services, security, hospitality and a wide range of local suppliers. The economic multiplier effect has the potential to benefit businesses across the value chain while creating sustainable employment and strengthening the resilience of our local economy.”
The Chamber will work closely with the Task Team to coordinate investor engagements, facilitate strategic partnerships, connect investors with local service providers and strengthen collaboration across its sector desks and geographic clusters. Operating within a performance-driven framework, the Task Team will report quarterly on investment facilitation, skills development, stakeholder engagement and job creation outcomes to ensure accountability and measurable impact.
#BayOfOpportunity
Issued by:
Sibongile Dimbaza
Communications Officer