The inaugural Tourism Investment Forum Africa (TIFA) – to be hosted in Upington, Northern Cape, from June 7-9 – will highlight a range of bankable and fully scoped investment opportunities.
“Issues to be addressed at the conference will aim to provide some innovative thinking to key barriers to investment, and how the host destination, South Africa, and the continent, can leverage opportunities that exist to contribute to job creation and economic growth,” said Miller Matola of Millvest Advisory, which is facilitating the new investment flagship event.
Aligned to the theme, Forging Global Partnerships for Inclusive Local Economic Development Through Sustainable Investment, the Forum aims to bring together the tourism and investment sectors, to create sustainable economic job creation and employment opportunities.
The Forum will create opportunities for project owners to connect with investors at targeted business-to-business engagements, with investors being able to visit some of the project sites following the Forum.
It will cover the following thematic focus areas, investment opportunities and projects:
According to Matola, delegates attending the Forum will have an opportunity to participate in a range of conversations with speakers and experts from across South Africa, the continent and the world.
More about TIFA
TIFA was conceptualised as a vehicle to promote trade, investment and finance solutions and opportunities between the South Africa and the continent. As ‘a global platform for local action’, the Forum also aims to afford the host destination the opportunity to promote investment into priority sectors of its economy and in particular the tourism sector, thereby contributing to inclusive and sustainable local economic growth and development, particularly job creation. Creating employment and development opportunities for the host communities is central to the TIFA.
A key pillar of the platform is the facilitation of meaningful business-to-business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) exchanges to facilitate investment, networking, sharing of knowledge and market insights as well as other trade development opportunities.
Therefore, the Forum will also showcase an SME, Start Up and Sustainability Pavilion aimed at affording local businesses opportunities for networking with the conference delegates, business development as well as access to markets and capital.
In addition to promoting investment projects and opportunities in the travel and tourism industry across the SADC and other regions, the TIFA will promote transversal projects and investment opportunities in critical sectors such as infrastructure, transport, real estate and the green economy, which are key to the development and growth of tourism through their stimulation of development in related sectors.
