September 2022

The Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency has published a second series of market intelligence opportunity briefs outlining current opportunities for investors, aligned to supporting the growth of a green economy for the Province

The Cluster has made significant progress to date, in particular to systematically engage with businesses in the province to identify and highlight opportunities and barriers for green economy projects in Mpumalanga. Through these engagements, the cluster is building the foundations for an ecosystem of competitiveness in Water, Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Circular Economy.

The published opportunity briefs (Water, Renewable Energy and Sustainable Agriculture) provide an overview of the market within each sector, including key developments and achievements, the key players, legislation and regulation, market opportunities and challenges, and funding opportunities. These reports are available to download for free from https://mpumalangagreencluster.co.za/.

“The Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency focus on unlocking and unblocking economic opportunities in the green economy, with the aim of making a contribution to regional economic diversification and job creation efforts,” said Mr Nkosinathi Nkonyane, interim cluster executive. “The second edition of the market opportunity briefs provide more in-depth insights into green economy investment opportunities in the green economy in Mpumalanga. It is written for investors who want to understand the opportunities for investment and job creation in green economy sectors the province,” he added.

The Cluster has had several hundred engagements with the private sector to understand barriers and opportunities and it has launched several capacity building programs and technical support interventions in Mpumalanga. The Cluster also hosted the Mpumalanga Energy Summit in 2022, where it was formally launched by the Mpumalanga Government MEC: Finance, Economic Development and Tourism.

“Following a successful summit, these reports provide a guide to where opportunities are located in the Green Economy of Mpumalanga. Mpumalanga is committed to attracting investment and creating jobs in the Green Economy”.

Collaboration through clustering on a local scale to build competitiveness on a global scale will support the growth of the green economy in Mpumalanga, and determine the green cluster in Mpumalanga’s success.

In this spirit of collaboration, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH partnered with public benefit organisation GreenCape in collaboration with the Mpumalanga Government’ Department of Economic Development and Tourism to support the establishment of the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, and support initiatives in core green economy sectors to begin building an ecosystem of competitiveness. The GIZ support for this project is provided jointly by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

The UK PACT has also contributed to work that links the opportunities in the green economy in Mpumalanga with the emerging industrialisation opportunities being explored in the drafting of South African Renewable Energy Masterplan.