South Africa: City of Cape Town, GreenCape unite to boost agritech growth
The City of Cape Town, in partnership with green energy growth organisation GreenCape, recently hosted the inaugural AgTech Connect session. This event brought together investors, business leaders, and government officials for high-impact networking and the exchange of ideas focused on agricultural technologies aimed at strengthening the sector.
Source: Supplied | Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth addresses the audience at the City and GreenCape AgTech Connect session.
With climate change and other challenges threatening agriculture, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions to safeguard the industry for current and future generations.
'Across Africa, agritech grew 44% year-on-year between 2016 and 2019, and is projected to reach a continent-wide value of $1 trillion by 2030.
"This presents major opportunities for innovators and investors in Cape Town, where there exists an ecosystem of support from organisations, such as the City government and GreenCape," says Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.
Driving sector growth and innovation
The session focused on identifying pathways for growth, investment, and policy support to help scale the agritech sector. Technologies developed in Cape Town and its surroundings are well-positioned to support the resilience and expansion of agriculture across Africa.
'Over the past five to 10 years, the Western Cape's agricultural sector grew at an average annual rate of 2.5% and 2.7%, reaching R25.6 billion in 2023. The GreenCape Sustainable Agri Market Intelligence Report 2025 indicates that the sector has further maintained its national share at 16% for agriculture and 21% for agri-processing.
"To build an industry that can withstand challenges, both known and unknown, we have to encourage bold solutions. For example, drones have become one of the leading solutions for the sector and the market is currently valued at just over R1bn, with forecasts saying that it will more than triple over the next five years.
"This is why the City funds and works with partners such as GreenCape, who help us to understand and realise the investment potential of emerging industries while energising the development of small businesses and job opportunities,' says Alderman Vos.
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