REPORT BACK
2020
NOTE FROM
The cost of the coronavirus pandemic along with the lockdown has been very high indeed, and very few businesses in our city and province can claim to have escaped unscathed. Navigating the Covid-19 impact has proven to be a challenging undertaking, and the Durban Chamber commends, with gratitude and admiration, all business leaders who have contributed incisive thought leadership and industry insights to numerous strategy sessions at city and provincial level to try and get economic activity back on track; those who have contributed to goodwill activities that support those who have been hard hit (including food relief); those who have taken dividend and salary cuts to ensure employees remain in jobs; and those who, through sheer guts and determination, have worked hard to keep their doors open to both employees and customers. Without bold and sacrificial leadership, our economic ecosystem would have collapsed entirely. These businesses lend truth to our stated organisational purpose: In Business For A Better World, and we salute them. In our world, people always come first and, for this reason, we also commend President Cyril Ramaphosa, his cabinet, and our provincial government for the bold (and, in some cases, unpopular) steps taken to deal with this unprecedented crisis by prioritising the preservation of life in the delicate and truly challenging task of balancing the preservation of lives and livelihoods. We are also encouraged by the positive and proactive engagement between the public and private sectors in Durban and KZN, which, in this unprecedented year, have shown that we are capable of working together quickly and with a singular vision in the best interests of our province. We trust that this trend will continue well after this crisis has ended.
NOTE FROM ABOUT THE
F
Durban Chamber
ounded in 1856, the Durban Chamber is the largest memberbased metropolitan chamber in southern Africa. We represent close to 3 000 businesses in eThekwini and beyond, ranging from multinationals to corporates and SMMEs. Since 2019, we also represent 54 000 informal sector businesses through their business associations. Policy and advocacy are at the heart of our work and we assist members with securing trade and investment opportunities locally and internationally, providing business advisory services (CIPC, Certificates of Origin, ITC checks, HR consultancy and more) across a broad spectrum of sectors, engaging thought leadership through forum webinars and other networking events,
sharing business information through digital platforms, and also sourcing business insights through occasional questionnaires. The Durban Chamber advocates and influences policy decisions that affect the interests of business (tax legislation, import and export regulations and more), offering member benefits and providing information relevant to business decisionmaking. As a businessbased and member-focused organisation, our strategic purpose is to help create a conducive economic and business environment to facilitate and promote economic growth in the region in partnership with key stakeholders. CONTACT US: 031 335 1000 info@durbanchamber.co.za www.durbanchamber.co.za
The President, Nigel Ward
The CEO, Palesa Phili
When we were all drafting business strategies for 2020, none of us could have imagined that we might soon be needing to insert a column labelled “Covid-19 Effect” into our spreadsheets. Who was to know that we would be navigating the rough seas and uncharted waters of a catastrophic pandemic that would batter the operations and revenues of practically every one of our members, and, indeed, we ourselves as a Chamber? Businesses have suffered tremendous economic losses and re-opening the economy proved to be a complex process with different sectors having different requirements and facing different pressures. As the recovery work continues, the Durban Chamber continues to robustly engage key stakeholders in the public sector on behalf of our members to ensure that their views and concerns are heard and taken into account at the highest decision-making levels in government. Given the level of uncertainty in the marketplace, the Durban Chamber encourages businesses to continue to be agile, innovative, and creative to be able to survive and thrive in the “new normal” that will be the status quo for a considerable period to come. In this special insert, find a summarised report of some of the ways the Durban Chamber served the business community during lockdown. We appeal for your continued support in paying membership fees that will enable us to continue serving you to the best of our ability, especially in lobbying on behalf of the Durban and KZN business community. Do not hesitate to call on your Chamber!