Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Established in 1804, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the oldest member-based business organisation in Africa. It is mandated to serve, enable and lead business. This is achieved through a multitude of services, networking opportunities as well as robust advocacy on behalf of business.

The Chamber represents business of all sizes and virtually all sectors. Our members count on us to be their eyes and ears in the Western Cape as well as on a national level, and we work tirelessly to ensure that we serve our members’ needs.

As a key player in the business landscape, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry truly believes that we are Where Opportunity Meets.

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Upcoming Events

Lunchtime Networking Event -Tygerberg and Winelands Chapters

26th May 2017 12:00

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Tygerberg Chapter - Lunchtime Networking Event

29th May 2017 13:00

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Complaint Handling & Conflict Management Workshop

30th May 2017 08:30

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Mindset of the Entrepreneur - Mitchell's Plain Chapter Networking Event

30th May 2017 10:00

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Microsoft Excel 2010: Level 2

31st May 2017 09:00

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The Practical Personal Assistant Workshop

1st June 2017 08:30

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Helderberg Chapter Cocktail Networking Event with Doris Viljoen

1st June 2017 18:00

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New DTI Agro-Processing Scheme

5th June 2017 14:00

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LATEST NEWS

24 May

Drought has turned the Western Cape into a disaster area

The Cape Chamber has appealed to all businesses throughout the province to do everything possible to save water and to make plans to use less water in the future. The drought has turned the Western Cape into a disaster area and we have to take urgent measures to reduce water use, but we must also see it as a long-term problem. We have all been guilty of taking water for granted and that has to stop right now. We can look back and see some of the things we should have done, but that does not solve our immediate problems. I appeal to all businesses that use a lot of water to do their own recycling and reuse water in toilets for example. It may require some re-plumbing but these emergency measures can become permanent water-savers for years to come. There is no doubt that water will become more expensive in the future and every business should plan to use water more efficiently. The electricity crisis and the shocking tariff increases forced people to find way to use less electricity and now we must do the same with water. Rain water tanks are an obvious measure. Many industrial buildings have […]

22 May

Genes, memes and your survival

Genes, memes and your survival The term ‘meme’ was popularised by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. The reason that our genes are ‘selfish’ essentially boils down to survival of the fittest – your genes are selfish, because they want to replicate themselves. That’s why ‘a chip off the old block’ sounds so comforting. The strong survive – hence the term ‘good genes’. Anything that spreads is a meme For our purposes, a meme is any cultural product that spreads. The miniskirt was a meme. So are jokes and social interaction. And most notable of all – viral videos. Anything that spreads through a community or culture is essentially a meme. Memes are important in social media, because the greater the advantage of the receiver passing on your message, the greater your reach and the lower your CPM (cost per thousand). There must be some value in the meme to the person passing it on. It could be something to make others laugh, a great retail deal, a valuable article or an interesting course. Or the favourite meme: gossip. So, although it is somewhat challenging to produce a viral meme, it provides an exceptional return. Viral memes seldom […]

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17 May

Call for nominations: Become a Board Member of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry

NOTICE TO MEMBERS In terms of Clause 20.3 of the Constitution of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Cape Chamber requires a minimum of nine (9) Board Members to serve on the Board. As per Clause 20.5.1.1 of the Constitution, 3 (three) Board Members have stepped down. Nominations for Board Members must be submitted to the Cape Chamber via email jennifer@capechamber.co.za or delivered to the offices of the Cape Chamber i.e. 4th floor, 33 Martin Hammerschlag Way, Foreshore, Cape Town. CLICK HERE FOR THE NOMINATION FORM As per Clause 20.6.4 of the Constitution, in addition to the details required on the Nomination Form, we also require: • A written motivation indicating the reasons for the nomination, including particulars of the attributes, skills and experience of the nominee. • The curriculum vitae of the nominee. The closing date for the receipt of nominations is Monday 29th May 2017. Kind Regards S. PEIMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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15 May

The power of social proof

The power of social proof Mrs Keech (a pseudonym) was gifted with automatic writing. Basically she got messages from The Guardians of outer space, and would share the information with a small group who also believed the messages to be real. It became a serious matter when one day The Guardians advised Mrs Keech that the world would end, and only she and her group of believers would be saved. The group, firm in their conviction, needed no social proof, and sold all their belongings in anticipation of the fateful night. Social Proof existed before social media Social Proof is a concept that existed before social media became so pervasive. Basically it says that the more people who find an idea correct, the more the idea is correct for everyone else. So we often look for cues on how to behave ourselves when we see the actions of others. A sort of herd behaviour. The Mrs Keech phenomenon is well documented, because three researchers joined the group and could relate in detail to what actually happened. The first phenomenon they noted was that pre-doomsday the group kept very much to themselves. In fact, they avoided publicity completely. The group was […]

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8 May

Is brand loyalty eroding for tech products?

Is brand loyalty eroding for tech products? Today we have seen the introduction of what was unthinkable ten years ago. This includes everything from biometric socks and other ‘wearables’ to 3D printers, drones, robotics, virtual reality, driverless vehicles and TVs where the clarity is best described as ‘breath-taking’. However, in a Brandwatch Report as far back as 2014 on consumer technology (and yes, in today’s terms, that is far back), it was reported that 78% of consumers are not loyal to one particular brand. I have not seen the original research, but I have seen the writing on the wall for technology brands where both genders value features at a decent price above all other factors. Where has loyalty gone? Of all the factors taken into consideration when purchasing a tech product, brand loyalty is not a major determinant as can be seen in this table: So, what has changed? The question is: what has changed? The answer is simple: the amount of information readily available at the swipe of a smartphone screen. Before the advent of social media and product review sites, we were relatively in the dark, or at best we could […]

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3 May

City’s new draft by-law on outdoor advertising

The City’s new draft by-law on outdoor advertising is an improvement on the first version but it is still too complicated and full of unnecessary detail. One example is the regulations for neighbourhood watch sign boards. According to the by-law the boards have to be 580 mm wide and 680 mm high. Why be so exact? Why not simply make the dimensions 60 cm by 70 cm and have done with it? The regulations also stated that the board could not be illuminated. Why? If any sign should be illuminated it is surely the anti-crime signs in residential areas where some of the worst dangers occur during the dark hours of the night. The Chamber believes that these signs should be as visible as possible so that they would act as a deterrent to criminals. In my letter to the Council, I also complained about the insistence on the “portrait” shape of the sign and asked why it could not be turned on its side to give it a “landscape” shape. And what about a triangular sign which will emphasis danger? Please leave some scope for creativity! I was surprised to see that the council had even come up with […]

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2 May

Myths to dispel when pitching new business

“Tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em. Tell ’em, then tell ’em what you told ’em,” is one of the pieces of trite advice that’s often bandied about as if it’s some truth that will produce guaranteed results when presenting to prospects. It was developed for military use, where I understand perfectly well that it makes sense to tell your comrade three times to aim to the left, as you will be on the right. But lethal weapons are seldom fired in presentations, and a clear story does not necessarily have to be repeated three times. Here are some more urban legends of new business pitching: 1. They will choose the best people for the job. No they won’t. If you’re pitching to perform surgery on clients, then yes, maybe they will. For non-life threatening situations, they do not choose the best people for the job – they choose the person or team who shows them a future with the greatest added value from the relationship. Or – as I have often seen – simply the people they like. 2. We need to get a number of important points across. No. You need to get one point across. As […]

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24 Apr

There’s money in connectivity

There’s money in connectivity Certain instances aside, such as when you’re driving with your spouse, it’s nice to know how you’re performing. The ubiquity of digital media has provided us with a treasure chest of data allowing us to ‘see’ what’s happening when we’re nowhere near what’s happening. This has brought a new value proposition to the fore where the modern paradigm for making money lies in the information. Data is literally money. The reason digital can transform There are three things that make digital technology transformational. [1] Firstly digital signals, unlike their analogue brethren, can be transmitted without any loss in fidelity – your Facebook looks the same in Cape Town as it does in Mumbai. Secondly, digital signals can be replicated indefinitely – a billion people can check my page without any degradation (unlike You magazine pass-along readership), and thirdly, incremental costs are virtually zero – once you’ve set up content, the marginal cost of another 1,000 ‘friends’ seeing it is, apart from the time invested, is virtually zero. So here we have a fertile setting for a change in game plan. General Electric – anything but general The last thing GE wants to be is a supplier […]

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18 Apr

The challenge of innovation

Today everything is so connected and time to market so short, that the only real competitive advantage that has slowly crept up on us, is innovation. The surge of interconnected ICT has also fuelled the fire. The germination of an innovation begins with an insight. I define insights as “an understanding that can be leveraged for a result in a certain dimension (time and space)”. For example, how would you ask a class of first year college students to keep quiet? This is their first foray into a world where they feel free and obeying authority is not high on their agenda. Well, I found that if you said – at the top of your voice – “Concerning the exam,” you could literally hear a pin drop. This was based on an insight which is an understanding (that they would hate to study something that was not in the exam) that could be leveraged for a result (silence) in a certain dimension (in the classroom before the exams). However, when it comes to innovation, having insight means more than finding out what people’s needs are, because even though you would be bringing a new solution to their lives, they judge […]

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12 Apr

Impact of Bus Strike will be felt throughout the City

Nearly 300 000 people use buses in Cape Town every working day so the impact of the bus strike will be felt throughout the City. It comes at a time when Metrorail is underperforming and running at close to capacity during commuting hours leaving commuters with very few alternatives but private cars and taxis. This would cost both time and money in terms of taxi fees and lost productivity. I appealed to employers to be understanding and urge motorists to give colleagues lifts wherever possible. In fact, this might be a good time to start lift clubs and plan car-sharing schemes for the future. Perhaps this is a crisis we should use to find new ways to beat Cape Town’s traffic congestion problems. It’s difficult to predict the effects on the economy as this depends on how long the strike lasts. It comes at a very bad time for business as April has three public holidays and we lost business during the protests last week. In addition, the month has also brought us the credit down grade so the combined effects will be serious but almost impossible to quantify at this stage. Some areas will suffer more than others. MyCiti has […]

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10 Apr

When last did you mow your neighbour’s lawn?

Why will we mow our own lawns to save R100, but never consider mowing a neighbour’s to make R100? The effort’s identical, and so is the money involved, but for some reason most people don’t even consider it. The answer lies in how we frame it. The Nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s ‘Prospect Theory’ demonstrates that we have an irrational tendency to gamble with profits and play it safe with losses. In other words, the R100 we would need to pay a gardener would be a loss, so we mow the lawn ourselves (play it safe). However, mowing the lawn for the neighbour would be a gain, but we give this opportunity no second thought (play it ‘unsafe’). Plotting happiness If we plotted happiness on a graph, we’d expect it to look something like this for gaining or losing money: If you won R100, you should be happy, say, 10 units – and if you lost R100 you should be happy by minus 10 units (or unhappy 10 units). But as Jimmy Connors says: “I hate losing more than I love winning.” He’s absolutely correct. Prospect Theory shows a curve that follows more of an ‘S’ shape, with […]

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10 Apr

No confidence in the leadership of South Africa by President Zuma and his cabinet

The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for a resounding vote of no confidence in the leadership of South Africa by President Zuma and his cabinet. The call was the main point in a resolution adopted at the Chamber’s 213th annual general meeting. The resolution also called on President Zuma and his cabinet to heed that calls of millions of South Africans to stand down without further delay and for a national general election as soon as possible so that the people of South Africa can express themselves clearly about the direction the country is taking. The resolution was adopted unanimously and this could be seen as an indication of how strongly business felt on the matter. In the preamble to the resolution, the Chamber said “Ever since Mr Zuma was elected to the office of the President of the Republic of South Africa, our country has lurched from one crisis to another. Endemic corruption, mismanagement of government departments, policy confusion, polarisation of communities, social dislocation and rampant violent crimes are the order of the day.” Business was concerned about the economic growth rate which remained far below the levels that were required to meet the requirements of the […]

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5 Apr

62% of Cape businesses in favour of closing down on Friday in protest

Nearly 62 percent of Cape businesses are in favour of closing down on Friday in protest against the sacking of former Finance Minister, Mr Pravin Gordhan, according to a survey conducted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The comments of our members make it clear that the number would have been even higher but for the many public holidays in April. We have the Easter weekend as well as Freedom Day in April and people tend to add a few days of their annual leave to these holidays so that makes April a very difficult month for business. Productivity suffers and I can understand that many firms simply cannot afford another paid holiday. In response to the question: “Do you believe we have a leadership crisis in the country? 99.21 percent of respondents said YES. When asked: “Do you support the call for Jacob Zuma to resign?” 99.21% of respondents said YES. Some of the respondents contained apologies for not supporting the stay away, pointing out that they had obligations to their customers. Others relished the opportunity to make a stand with one businessman saying he was giving his staff a day of paid leave and he would […]

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5 Apr

The effect’s ‘junk status’ will have on South Africans

What ordinary South Africans need to do now is look at the down-to-earth effects of the credit rating down grade and how junk status will hurt them in their every-day lives. Overseas investors would withdraw their money and the government would have to pay much higher interest rates to borrow money to service and repay its massive loans such as those which Eskom, SAA and other State-owned enterprises had built up. Interest rates would go up and the value of the rand would shrink. In plain language this means that the value of our savings and pension funds will go down and the monthly payments on our cars, home loans, credit cards and our medical schemes will go up. Everything we import like petrol, clothes, food and medicines will cost more. That will mean less money for food, clothes and school fees. If investment in the country dried up there would be no new factories, no new jobs and the unemployment problem would get worse. It is the ordinary South African and the poor who will feel the pain. The corrupt have already changed their looted fortunes into dollars. Businesses would have to work together to starve the captured institutions […]

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4 Apr

Disastrous effects of the midnight cabinet reshuffle are continuing

The disastrous effects of the midnight cabinet reshuffle are continuing and can be seen in the loss of business confidence and the falling value of the Rand. It’s like watching money burn. The value of our savings and pensions is going up in smoke and it’s hard to see where it will end. The Chamber is encouraged by the many voices speaking out against the sacking of Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, a man of honour and integrity, and his replacement by a man who had no suitable qualifications or financial experience. Unfortunately it was going to take more than voices to stop the rot. What we need now is some Zuma shedding. We can only hope that the people of integrity in all political parties will unite to provide new leadership for the country. Business is going to display its displeasure and concern for the future in every possible way. We need to keep jobs alive and at this stage we have to focus on damage control. Janine Myburgh President of the Cape Chamber

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3 Apr

Free choice is not what it seems

Free choice is not what it seems So you want freedom of choice? Not so fast. A colonoscopy involves a small camera up your rectum for the proctologist to take a look-see. The discomfort is at its peak when the camera is moved around – which is basically the entire procedure. You’d think the general rule would be to get it over with. But people make some rather strange choices. In a medical trial, patients recalled less distress after a colonoscopy that lasted longer – as long as the instrument remained still for the additional time. So, more patients would have chosen the longer process, were they to have it again. The Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman also discovered that the quality of past experience follows the “peak-end” rule: how the experience felt at its peak (best or worst) and how it felt at the end. The duration had almost no influence on the recalled quality. Our memory can really cloud our logic when it comes to making choices. Aversion to loss also makes us choose very strangely. We are all ‘creative accountants’ when it comes to keeping our psychological balance sheets. Imagine you bought a R300 ticket to a […]

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3 Apr

Dramatic and bloody cabinet reshuffle makes no political or economic sense

The dramatic and bloody cabinet reshuffle makes no political or economic sense and is likely to create a continuing state of crisis for the country. Good ministers have been axed and replaced by less competent ones while the most incompetent, like Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who presided of the social grants debacle have been retained. Most serious is that we have lost Finance Minster Parvin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, and now there will be no one to say no to some wild and reckless spending. Their replacements do not inspire confidence and we can expect a negative reaction from the rating agencies. One the main reasons for the reshuffle was to clear the way for a Nuclear deal, almost certainly with Russia. We know that Minister Gordhan was opposed to a nuclear deal on the grounds that it was unaffordable at this stage. It will become even more unaffordable as we head for junk status. It is ironic that this comes a day after one of the world’s great nuclear reactor manufactures, Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy in the United States. The reason was that the cost of building new nuclear power stations had increased so much that it had […]

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31 Mar

City Council’s draft budget features lowest rates & tariff increases in a decade

The Cape Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the City Council’s draft budget proposals which feature the lowest rates and tariff increases in 10 years. We had a decade of above inflation increases and we can only hope the new round of increases proves to be a turning point. Last year’s six percent increase in rates proved to be below the eventual inflation rate and now there was a further reduction to a five percent increase. This is welcome, but it does little wipe out the accumulated effects of a decade of savage rates and tariff increases. Last year we warned that municipalities were part of the growing problem of an ever-more expensive public service and that this situation was unsustainable. We understand that some of the increases, such as electricity tariffs, have been unavoidable and the sharp increase (nearly 20%) in the proposed water tariffs, but we should not forget that the water crisis would have been less serious if there had been better planning and the council had made more recycled water available to industry. In any big organisation some wastage was inevitable and we have yet to be convinced that the Council has got to grips with this […]

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27 Mar

Why strategy is not a science

Why strategy is not a science Henry Ford sold the Model T in ‘Any colour you like as long as it’s black’, with the slogan ‘It gets you there and it brings you back.’ He sold 15 million. This was in a market devoid of choice – where marketing could be treated as science – price and sales marching in unison. In a competitive market, however, strategy follows the principles of design, not science. Design solutions are about ‘invented choice’, unlike science which is about ‘discovered truth’. The former deals with designing what does not yet exist, while scientists explain what is. Design will always be about speculation. There is no one right way to design a marketing strategy, even though it is executed in a world where the gravitational constant equals 9.8 metres per second squared – every day of the week. Finding the square root of 1750 is quite difficult without a calculator, but you can solve it. There is a specific answer. These types of problems are referred to as ‘tame’ problems, even though solving them can be complex. The traditional pattern of thinking that we tend to follow with tame problems gives us what the software […]

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22 Mar

Why a good strategy is like a good map – lessons from the world of cartography

Why a good strategy is like a good map – lessons from the world of cartography A Hungarian army patrol, after losing their way in a storm, faced certain death in the harsh wintry conditions of the Alps. Luckily, a soldier in the group found a map in a seldom-used pocket, and navigated them safely back to base. However, after perusing the map, their commanding officer stated: “This isn’t a map of the Alps. It’s a map of the Pyrenees.” The map did its job – it may not have taken them down the shortest route, or even accurately reflected where they were, but it provided the two outcomes of a good strategy. Stephen Cummings and David Wilson (the editors of Images of Strategy, Blackwell Publishing), propose that the quality of a strategy depends on two effects: orientation and animation – the ability to show people where they are relative to other things, and the capacity to allow them to make whatever moves are deemed necessary. The qualities of a good strategy and a good map are synonymous: • It clearly communicates its message to the reader – anyone should be able to follow it. • It shows enough of […]

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