A Durban delegation recently returned from the Commonwealth Business Forum in Malta. The Commonwealth Business Forum, held alongside the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), is the major business event in the Commonwealth calendar.  The forum convenes heads of government, senior ministers, government delegates and the private sector in one place to discuss business opportunities and policy making.

The delegation of 12 (including members of the Board and staff of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, eThekwini’s Durban Investment Promotion, Trade and Investment KZN, as well as the President of the iLembe Chamber and local business people) used the trip to secure engagements
with key relevant stakeholders.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) treated the mission as an exploratory one to see if the Commonwealth Business Forum (and Enterprise and Investment Council) provided a business
friendly platform for its members and stakeholders. The business mission was on invitation from the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, with a request to become one of their founding members.

Abdul Hamza (Business Development Head of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council) and Oliver Everett (the CE of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council facilitated many of the delegations key engagements and provided a compelling argument to join the organisation which spreads across 53 countries.

Ready To Inspire

The President, CEO, and Executives of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) were in attendance, and afforded the Durban Business and City Delegation several private meetings.

Lena Wilson (CE of Scottish Enterprise) shared their experience, operating model as well as key stakeholder engagements for the 2014 Games hosted in Glasgow.  Louisa Martin (President of Commonwealth Games Federation) and David Grevenberg (CEO) shared the success, challenges and focus areas of past games.

Martin and Grevenberg recommended that we try not to do the best games but rather get the world to experience African games to the best of our ability. This view was shared by Wilson (CE of Scottish Enterprise) who highlighted the importance of localising the games but keeping the national identity.

The theme of the discussions and way forward reflected the consensus that both the private and the public sector should be encouraged to fully capitalise on the economic opportunities embedded in the Games. The expanded Durban Public and Private sector teams look forward to broadening and jointly delivering the expanded set of benefits available from the Games.

From the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Investment Promotion perspective, this would be from the build up at present through to 2022, and cover essentials from FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) attraction,
to programmes of civic pride improvement. This latter item is technically known as ‘intangible economic development’, which has direct implications for local existing investment expansion.

It is essential that Durban business becomes a key stakeholder in the build up to the event as well as the event itself to ensure a successful hosting of the 2022 Games. The Durban Chamber will help to co-ordinate the inputs of all in business towards a programme of action. “It is my intent is to get business more involved in the Commonwealth Games,” said Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, Dumile Cele.

Wilson has offered to come to South Africa to mentor around the business model, with a focus on supplier development as well as driving stakeholder engagement and awareness. She has also committed to seconding a member of staff to assist in the process.

Overall, the mission was a great learning and engagement platform for team Durban, with the key message being: To start planning now to make the Commonwealth Games 2022, inclusive and impactful.

www.durban-2022.com