Mthente Research and Consulting Services has been commissioned by the Cape Chamber of Commerce, together with the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town, to carry out a study on the business environment in the Cape Town city-region and the extent to which regulatory ‘red tape’ affects the ease of doing business in the city. The study has been commissioned with a view to creating a plan to reform regulatory practices in Cape Town that currently increase the cost of establishing and operating a business in the city-region and reduce businesses’ ability to respond quickly to changes in their environment.

In undertaking the research, Mthente will contextualise the analysis by reviewing previous studies and assessments of the cost of doing business and the impact of regulatory practices in the Cape Town city-region. This will be followed by a quantitative survey of 200 small, micro, medium and large businesses in the Cape Town city-region. The survey will be complemented by a facilitated workshop with representatives from the private sector and a series of one-on-one interviews with key government officials.

The research findings will allow for an identification of regulatory procedures and processes that have the greatest negative effect on business competitiveness and resiliency in Cape Town. In turn, these findings will form the basis for recommendations regarding the reforms that should be prioritised in order to lower the cost of doing business in Cape Town and make it simpler, faster and easier to establish and grow a business in the city-region.