The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government (WCG) joined forces at the UVU Innovation Hub in Woodstock, last week on Thursday, April 23, 2026 for a high-level Intergovernmental Innovation Exchange. The event brought together approximately 60 innovation champions, policy-makers and technical leads to deepen collaboration and build a shared, future-fit innovation ecosystem for the province.
City’s Manager for Innovation and Customer Insights – Bridgette Morris stated that this innovation exchange follows a period of significant accolades for the City’s innovation efforts. The City of Cape Town was recently awarded Top Innovative Municipality in South Africa at the Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (MIRA) 2025.
Notably, it was the only municipality in the country to achieve Level-4 Innovation Maturity on the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI). This rating demonstrates how the City of Cape Town successfully enables innovation through robust collaboration, strategic partnerships, and active community involvement.
The exchange was officially opened by Executive Director of Future Planning and Resilience at the City of Cape Town – Gareth Morgan, and Head of Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning at the Western Cape Government – Gerhard Gerber.
Considering this, Gareth Morgan stated that the intergovernmental exchange was not just about sharing ideas; it was about building relationships and trust necessary to scale what works. By aligning the City of Cape Town’s and the Western Cape Government’s policies and talent, they ensured that Cape Town and the Western Cape as a whole will always remain the innovation capital of Africa.
The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government aim to attract more venture capital by addressing restrictive exchange controls, intellectual property regulations, and risk-averse investment practices. Improving collaboration across sectors and increasing access to funding and incentives are central to boost research and development.
Deputy Director for Digital Economy Unit at the Western Cape Government – Mahdi Hendricks said that the Western Cape is the tech, startup and venture capital as well as the innovation and design capital of Africa.
They have strong technology ecosystems and centres of excellence in a range of industries. It supports the enabling environment where the adoption of tech and innovation leads to improvement in the productivity and competitiveness of the economy.
The Western Cape will be a R1-trillion inclusive economy in real terms and is growing at between 4% and 6% per annum through enabling a competitive business environment, confirmed Hendricks.
During the intergovernmental exchange, both authorities showcased a range of high-impact projects that leveraged technology and creative problem-solving to improve service delivery, some to be named are:
- The City’s Drive-through Motor Vehicle License Renewals
It was presented by Wilmot Abrahams (Manager: Specialised Services) and Francois Manuel (Head: Motor Vehicle Registration and Licensing), this facility streamlines administrative efficiency for residents.
- The City’s Dome Education Centre
An initiative led by Lindi Buirski (Manager: Environmental Planning & Sustainability) focusing on environmental awareness and education.
- The City’s Wayleave Management System
Kochiwe Miti (Wayleave Manager) demonstrated how the City is digitising the coordination of infrastructure works.
- The WCG’s GIS AI Decision Support Tool
Ashley Roman (Project Incubator Manager, WCED) highlighted how Artificial Intelligence is being utilized for data-driven educational planning.
- The WCG Drone Sandbox
Mahdi Hendricks (Deputy Director, Digital Economy Unit) showcased the regulatory and testing environment for drone technology.
- The WCG Sustainable Building Material / ABET
Ronald Mukanya (Director: Sustainability) presented on innovative construction methods and skills development.
Proceedings of the day concluded with a strategic ‘homework’ assignment for all participants, that aimed at translating dialogue into long-term action on how both authorities can create a joint innovation ambassador/champion programme? How does the City and the WCG identify shared innovation challenges that need collective and innovative problem-solving? As well as how to improve scaling pathways for innovations across the City and the WCG.