As of June 2017, the South African economy is officially in a recession. The stagnant economy poses limited prospects for growth and thus firms need to look abroad for investment and trade opportunities. Chemicals manufacturers have untapped potential to harness the growth in neighbouring sub-Saharan African countries and DCC firms should make use of their strategic location in Durban, the gateway to intra-African trade, to strengthen their export markets. In the spirit of capitalising on trade and investment in Africa, the DCC welcomed member firms to a workshop concentrating on assisting firms with growing their export markets.

The focus of this workshop was on:

• Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s export and import support to manufacturing firms
• Export opportunities and new markets in Africa

The agenda included: