The CEO Chirp: The book in our front office

There is a thick book in the foyer of the Cape Chamber’s Cape Town office that tells the story of our organisation—the first 150 years or so.

A lot has happened in the almost three-quarters of a century that has passed since then. The book may be out of date, but the illustration on the front cover suggests some things stay the same no matter how far back you go. It shows a bustling Greenmarket Square in the mid-nineteenth century, filled with traders, and the mountain in the background towering above a row of commercial buildings.

In one way or another, trade and commerce remain at the heart of Cape Town life, and have done since the first permanent settlement. It is for this reason that the Kamer van Commercie was first established in 1804 by edict of the Batavian Government, to regulate commercial affairs. It later grew into the Commercial Exchange, and eventually into the Cape Chamber of Commerce. Economic activity is more than a thread linking successive generations; it is the bedrock of our shared story, and always has been.

This fact of life explains the broad appeal of the Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards earlier this month. It explains why so many leaders gathered in the City Hall to celebrate champions of systemic innovation driving economic growth. Our economic life is fundamental to our wellbeing.

Inasmuch as the Cape Chamber still represents the broad interests of commerce and industry across the region, many things have changed across our 222-year history. For one thing, we no longer deal with disputes between visiting ships and Cape Town residents, which was the organisation’s original raison d’être. We now represent the broad sweep of the economy, with members ranging from micro-entrepreneurs like Kayamandi fashion designer Luxolo Cakata, to workforce-transport pioneer Wasief Chilwan, and NPO champion Tracey Chambers, all of whom feature in this week’s newsletter.

We have expanded our role and modernised our systems. We forge strategic partnerships and facilitate cooperation to unlock opportunities for economic growth. And we innovate. Just like the award winners honoured at our Innovation Oscars, our success lies in our ability to learn from the past in order to reshape the future. Our programmes and projects are designed to drive systemic innovation wherever required, to unblock impediments to growth and progress.

In our screenshot world of social media and AI, the thick book in our office reception is indeed old news. But it is also a reminder of past challenges overcome and future challenges unknown. 

The faded picture of Greenmarket Square suggests that, even if we must keep doing much the same sort of thing, we must keep trying to do it better.

John Lawson, CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry