The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) took top honours in two categories, winning the Best Provider of Services to Exporters – an award they also won last year – and was also praised with the Job Creation award at the annual Exporters Club award ceremony at the weekend.
The state-owned entity walked away with a R20 000 bursary from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Business School, sponsored by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
“For the CDC to be nominated as a worthy contributor to job creation and provision of services to exporters is on its own a very positive endorsement,” said Christopher Mashigo, CDC business development executive manager.
“To receive category awards is the kind of recognition that I think will fuel the emotional and mental energies of everyone involved to sustain and even improve on these levels of excellence,” he said.
CDC reported a 25% year-on-year increase in the value of exported goods in the Coega IDZ, and operating investors in the IDZ exported a total 129 484 tons of goods during the 2014/15 financial year, which is a year on year increase of 9.1% tons from the previous financial year, according to CDC head of marketing and communications Dr Ayanda Vilakazi.
Investors have benefited from the strategic location of the Coega IDZ, adjacent to the deep water Port of Nqgura, a transhipment hub connecting investors to international markets. This is in line with the Department of Trade and Industry’s (dti’s) objectives of building an equitable multilateral trading system that facilitates development, strengthens trade and investment links with key economies in order to leverage global growth for the development of the South African economy.
“Agro-processing, logistics, and chemicals performed satisfactorily in exports in the 2014/15 financial year. There are many mega projects in the pipeline at Coega which will increase exports, including the implementation of the manganese terminal,” he said.
The Exporters Club awards were established to promote business leaders and recognise excellence within the industry. The club is a non-profit organization which encourages local firms to take on the challenge of exporting. It also is meant to provide networking opportunities for its members and contribute meaningfully to their understanding of the foreign trade environment while promoting their export interests.
The CDC’s commitment to productivity; delivery and the triple bottom line have seen it recognised by industry leaders in what is now a growing basket of awards.
The CDC has walked away with no fewer than five awards over the past two years and was the first IDZ in South Africa to reach the double digit investment milestone by signing 10 new investors in the 2013/14 FY.
Prestigious awards most recently received by the CDC:
- Annual Oliver Empowerment Awards: Top Empowered Public Service Award – 2015
- Annual Exporters Club award ceremony: Best Provider of Services to Exporters -2014
- (SA) Premier Business Awards: Most Empowered Enterprise – 2014
- Gold Award: Top Green Organisation Awards – 2014
- National Business Awards: Infrastructure Development – 2014
- National Business Awards: Top Executive of the Year (under forty years) – 2014
- Top Employers Institute: Top Employer of choice South Africa – 2014
- National Business Awards: Top Performing Public Service – 2014
- National Business Awards: Top Performing Parastatal / Agency of the Year Award – 2013
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