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STELLENBOSCH KNOWLEDGE REGION
www.theevent.co.za
STELLENBOSCH:
THE SILICON VALLEY OF SOUTH AFRICA Stellenbosch has been named as one of the top 10 cities in Africa for business tourism events by the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) Country and City rankings. Katie Reynolds-Da Silva explores its capabilities in more depth.
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n last year’s ICCA rankings, Stellenbosch secured the number seven position for hosting association meetings, ahead of cities like Cairo, Kampala and Tshwane. A total of 48 international association meetings have been hosted across the continent and Cape Town claimed the number one spot. ICCA rankings are regarded among the most important benchmarks in the international association meetings market. “Stellenbosch 360 recognised that business tourism (conferences, meetings, events, incentives and exhibitions) is an important segment of our ‘total product offering’,” says Annemarie Ferns, former CEO of Stellenbosch 360. “We recently launched a unit to promote and actively drive Stellenbosch’s vision to become a leading conference, events and incentives destination, with the ultimate objective of increasing the prosperity of the region.”
Stellenbosch retains its status as the jewel in the crown of the Western Cape, but for reasons that go beyond food and wine. International best practice and research indicated that strong knowledge regions are supported by: • • • •
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Knowledge centres, including academic thought leaders and research Critical mass of spin-out companies Entrepreneurs and mentors Funding mechanisms such as venture capital, angel investors and private equity funds The presence of multinational companies Infrastructure such as the LaunchLab Cluster policies and government support Strong networks Quality of life
*Source: Gibbons – Saxenian-Hinoul
Stellenbosch offers a cross-sector and inter-disciplinary opportunity that naturally brings people together from business and academia to meet each other and share ideas. This encourages collaboration and partnership for greater shared success and in support of a stronger innovation ecosystem and inclusive economic growth for the region. In turn, this aids in positioning Stellenbosch internationally as an innovation hub and knowledge region in Africa.
Innovus Innovus is Stellenbosch University’s university-industry interaction platform for the commercialisation of the university’s assets. Innovus has a vision to further build out the Stellenbosch ‘Knowledge Region’ around pockets of excellence in fields such as Education, Biomedical Engineering, Sport, Fintech, Media and
