Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal - Trade and Inward Investment Promotion Agency

The province of KwaZulu-Natal has established itself as a premier domestic and international investment and tourist destination. With two of Africa's busiest ports and world-class road and rail infrastructure, KwaZulu-Natal enjoys the strategic and competitive advantage of being a global gateway for trade into Southern Africa and to the world. Its strategic location and highly-developed industrial sector ensures a competitive edge for both local and foreign investors and unique advantages for local exporters.

Investment in KwaZulu-Natal continues to emerge as a major contributor to South Africa's growing economy and its favourable business environment has made the province a sound investment destination for investors from around the world.

Premier investment for international trade markets

Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is a South African trade and inward investment promotion agency, established to promote the province of KwaZulu-Natal as an investment destination and to facilitate trade by assisting local companies to access international markets.

The organisation identifies, develops and packages investment opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal, provides a professional service to all clientele, brands and markets KwaZulu-Natal as an investment destination, retains and expands trade and export activities, and links opportunities to the developmental needs of the KwaZulu-Natal community.

Business investment projects

In actively promoting business investment in KwaZulu-Natal, Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal provides a range of services, which include:

• Project appraisal - scientifically analysing prospective project viability in financial, cost benefit, social and environmental terms
• Site identification and evaluation - undertaking the co-ordination, pre-planning and evaluation of sites and post-site visits
• Sector economic data provisioning - providing and disseminating market intelligence as regards economic, sectoral and desktop data
• Backward and forward linkages - facilitating secondary and downstream opportunities for Black Economic Empowerment and small and medium enterprises
• Business permits (under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry) - assisting in the submission of recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs as regards business permit provision
• Agreement brokering - ensuring the satisfactory and successful conclusion of necessary agreements by relevant parties and stakeholders
• Joint venture facilitation - sourcing of joint venture partners, domestic and foreign, for both KwaZulu-Natal and international companies
• Facilitation of capital-raising - facilitating the development of capital-raising opportunities on behalf of project promoters
• General business advice - providing wide-ranging investment advice regarding locations, business conditions, regulations, labour practices and business services
• After-care services - facilitating local and foreign business retention, expansion and after-care services
• Marketing of incentives - marketing of national and local government incentives
• Inward and outward investment promotion missions - hosting and co-ordinating inbound foreign and local business delegations and undertaking outbound missions promoting KwaZulu-Natal as a premier investment destination
• Project profiling - profiling local project-based investment opportunities through local and international exhibitions, seminars and conferences

Export development for traders

In its promotion of export trade opportunities, Trade & Investment KZN offers traders a comprehensive bouquet of services. Our capacity-building programmes include:

• Export registration requirements
• Trade agreement compliance requirements
• Manufacturing rebate compliance requirements
• Export incentive schemes
• Customs compliance requirements
• Pre and post-shipment finance mechanism
• Export marketing and investment assistance scheme
• General system of preference requirements
• Freight and logistics in international trade
• International marketing
• INCOTERMS
• Insurance

Export market intelligence

Our market intelligence, ensures the obtaining of sufficient information about particular export markets, including:

• The source of present products and services
• Product and country-specific features
• Government regulations
• Potential buyers
• Exploring business opportunities for exports in specific markets
• Leads generated by the E-export platform portal

Local manufacturer intelligence

Trade & Investment's market intelligence also ensures the obtaining of sufficient information about particular local manufacturers, including:

• Exporter details
• Product descriptions
• Company profiles and marketing material
• Black Economic Empowerment status

Export promotion programmes

Our market development programmes, facilitate trade promotional programmes designed to bring willing buyers and willing sellers into contact with one another, including:

• National exhibitions
• Individual exhibitions
• Outward selling missions
• Inward buying missions
• E-export platform
• E-trade platform
• Intra-trade business to business facilitation