BlueCape, an initiative of the V&A Waterfront and the City of Cape Town, plans to capitalize on the natural beauty of the South African coast and provide support to businesses and investors in the growing ocean economy.

First published in the weekly Daily Maverick 168.

One might be tempted to dismiss the burgeoning sport of kiteboarding as a pastime of the rich, but it is the fastest growing sport in the world, enjoyed by people like Richard Branson and Barack Obama. – and South Africa is in a unique position for advantage.

The combination of wind, beach and waves means that the strip of coast between Blouberg and Milnerton in Cape Town is the busiest kitesurfing beach in the world.

The sport generates more than 480 million rand per year.

Taken collectively, ocean sports, which include surfing, surf-skiing, stand-up paddling, sport fishing and scuba diving, generate revenues of R 1.4 billion per year, much of it at Western Cape, according to a 2018 study by the University of Cape Town. Not bad for an industry made up entirely of small businesses, but it could be better.

A new initiative called BlueCape plans to capitalize on the natural beauty of the South African coast and provide support to businesses and …