The CTICC’s 2022/23 AGM: Leaving lasting impressions

On 14 February 2024, the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) held its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cape Town.

Despite the challenges of the last few years, the company sustained an encouraging return to profit. Event numbers for the 2023 financial year reached almost pre-pandemic levels and the Centre is busier than it has been in a long time.

The year under review saw an influx of international conferences, the most notable being Africa Tech Festival with 12 000 attendees in November 2022. The largest event for the financial year was Decorex Cape Town, bringing over 25 000 people to the venue.

In the 2023 financial year, a total of 427 events were hosted, compared to just 225 in the previous financial year. Nearly 275 000 people attended events in the year, compared to only 127 000 in the previous financial year.

Celebrating a 20-year legacy

As the CTICC approached its 20^th birthday on 28 June 2023, it reflected on its awe-inspiring journey to date. The CTICC has always hosted vibrant global and local events, connected with its communities and supported sustainability.

One way to measure the success over the last 20 years is through the numbers:

• The CTICC hosted over 9 000 events in the last two decades, with almost 700 of them being international events;
• The centre has created or sustained more than 156 000 jobs nationally;
• It has contributed a total of R60bn to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and R51.5bn to the Western Cape Gross Geographic Product (GGP); and
• More than 9.5m visitors have come through its doors in the last 20 years.

To commemorate its 20-year milestone, the CTICC developed a celebration logo using a stylised infinity symbol, illustrating the unlimited possibilities available at the Centre. The iconography is supported by the pay-off line “Leaving lasting impressions on tomorrow”.

Leaving lasting impressions

The 2023 Integrated Annual Report takes this message further. Like a strong, healthy tree, the CTICC has deep roots. Its story is marked over time by the impressions it has left on people and the planet and the impressions that the environment and its communities have left on the business.

“Leaving lasting impressions is what we do as a business – providing the conditions for people to meet, debate and make decisions that will benefit us all… This is our ‘dream’ as an organisation,” says CEO Taubie Motlhabane in her foreword in the 2023 Integrated Annual Report, and this has certainly rang true for the last 20 years.

From converting a sandy parking lot on the Foreshore into Africa’s leading convention centre, the CTICC has always left a mark. It has done so by creating jobs, which has changed the lives of thousands of families. During periods of difficulty, it has opened its venue to the community – the Hospital of Hope supported countless people, as did the Vaccination of Hope and, more recently, the Gift of the Givers water collection drive. Its commitment to the environment has also been clear from the very beginning and has informed every decision along the way.

The cover of the 2023 Integrated Annual Report features a slice of a tree trunk. Much like a fingerprint, a tree records vital information about its distinct and individual existence and it does so through tree rings. Each ring signifies a year of growth, a record of its journey through time.

Trees can live hundreds of years but the CTICC tree is still a sapling, with many possibilities just waiting to flourish. This is why the cover has 20 gold-foiled rings emblazoned on it – reminding the reader of its great legacy, as well as the aspiring future that awaits.

Growth in positive annual results for the 2023 financial year

The CTICC achieved a revenue of R278.0m, more than double compared to the previous financial year and marginally improving on its pre-Covid 2018/19 income levels of R277m. The company also achieved a positive earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of R45.7m – a 400% improvement on a targeted loss of R15.2m.

Thanks to these financial improvements, the CTICC was able to contribute R5.7bn to the national GDP and R5.4bn to the Western Cape GGP. Additionally, the CTICC created or sustained almost 11 000 jobs nationally in the 2023 financial year.

Bringing the future to life

CTICC CEO, Taubie Motlhabane, revealed that the centre’s forward book is flourishing.

“We have confirmed a total of 376 events up to 2030, 135 of these are international events,” she says.

In this coming year, the CTICC’s key focus will be on the following areas:

• Continuing to upskill youth for the MICE sector. The CTICC has signed a workplace agreement with the Youth Employment Service, and nine young people have started work at the Centre this month, with more joining soon;
• Continuing to expand its operations beyond its facility. The CTICC already provides food and beverage services to the Artscape Theatre Centre;
• Maintaining its ongoing commitment to sustainability;
• Keeping its clients front and centre through excellent customer service; and
• Honing its own events segment.

Building strong communities

With the improvement in the CTICC’s financial standing, the Centre was able to improve its community support. In the 2023 financial year, the CTICC continued to work with its Local Community Partners (LCPs) – Call 2 Care, help2read, iKhaya le Themba and its legacy partner, the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research (FARR). The CTICC also supported various other organisations with venue sponsorship and other services. Its corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribution totalled R1.2m in the 2023 financial year.

To celebrate 20 years of caring, gratitude and passion, the Centre launched its biggest community drive of 2023, the CTICC Cares campaign. The campaign ran from 5 October to 15 December 2023. The City of Cape Town, the Artscape Theatre Centre, the DHL Stadium, The Westin Hotel and Hotel Verde supported the drive as collection point partners. In total, over 1 400 items – including stationery, books, clothing, blankets, soft toys, cooking utensils, bedding and non-perishable food items – were collected from staff and the Cape Town public.

Nurturing our world

The CTICC is proud to announce that in the 2023 financial year, the company aligned to all 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), up from the 15 SDGs it attained in the 2022 financial year. Additionally, the Centre is now a supporter of the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative.

Green shoots – the CTICC’s Innovation Centre

The CTICC announced the imminent launch of its Innovation Centre for Impact, which aims to actively foster open innovation practices in its communities and attract innovative projects and programmes that have a sustainable impact, as defined by the SDGs.

The CTICC’s first social impact innovation partner project is WEpads. WEpads intends to create highly biodegradable and compostable sanitary towels that are also affordable. This is a win for both people and planet.

The road ahead is exciting. “We face the future with a clear purpose of accelerating economic prosperity, opportunity, creativity and innovation,” says Ms Motlhabane. And to the CTICC’s clients, she says: “We look forward to travelling with you on our journey into our third decade, as we grow the rings on our tree.”

To read the full report, click here or browse the CTICC’s 2023 Integrated Annual Report site to find out how we are ‘leaving lasting impressions’ #CTICCAGM2023.

For more information on the CTICC, go to cticc.co.za, connect with us on LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Issued by: Media Office, Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)
Note to Editor: To organise a media interview, source images or find out more about CTICC, please contact: media@cticc.wowfingers.com, +27(0) 21 410 5000

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