The City of Cape Town strategically funds and deploys Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to support high-growth sectors because these vehicles act as targeted. The industry-specific instruments that simultaneously upskill individuals, support small businesses, and attract investment.
It mainly focuses on resources where they can generate the most impact. With this, the City ensured that public investment leads to sustainable job creation, economic growth, and a stronger, more resilient local economy.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth – Alderman James Vos stated that over and above the foundation of reliable service delivery, that have included a South African-record R40 billion in infrastructure over three years.
The City of Cape Town government’s funding of Special Purpose Vehicles and their various programmes upskill individuals and small businesses. While simultaneously it promotes Cape Town as an investment destination within their respective industries. The result is tens of thousands of jobs created, and billions of rands poured into the local economy, which then led to greater employment opportunities.
Most recent jobs data from Statistics South Africa show that the sustained focus of the city on skills development alongside investment promotion of target industries continues to bear fruit.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for quarter four of 2025, 113,000 jobs have been added in Cape Town in the last year. The highest of the metros, with employment now at a record level of 1895 million people working in the Mother City.
These industries have particularly seen notable growth in Cape Town including finance, real estate and business services, manufacturing, and community, social and other personal services. Highlights of these City-funded SPV programmes include:
- Over 300 learners have been trained in sought-after digital and biomanufacturing skills in the last six months through the CAPACITI and UVU Bio initiatives run by UVU Africa. A further 741 entrepreneurs and SMMEs were also supported during this time.
- The Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster’s Cape Acceler8 programme upskilled 40 SMMEs in 2025, representing over 600 employees across Cape Town, with 70% of businesses based in the Cape Flats. Currently, 100 participants are undergoing accredited NQF Level 2 and 3 training.
- In 2025, GreenCape assisted 33 SMMEs with programmes relating to the circular economy and smart agri-tech, facilitating R500 million in investments from green-focused companies.
- The Youth Skills and Employment Incubator, administered by CapeBPO and funded by the City of Cape Town and the Department of Labour, helped in creating more than 10,000 new contact centre jobs in Cape Town in 2025 alone.
- The Craft+Design Institute supported 908 SMMEs between July 2024 and December 2025.
- The Greater Tygerberg Partnership projects saw 229 people trained through their Skills Centre and over 30 circular economy entrepreneurs accelerated in 2025.
According to Alderman James Vos, these support mechanisms have directly created jobs for residents and have helped them to strengthen Cape Town’s investment profile in these industries, by ensuring that they will continue to see small and large businesses taking up residence in the Mother City.