Johannesburg, South Africa – The Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers 674, organized a bilateral working meeting between companies from Dubai and their counterparts in the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. This was during the trade mission led by the Chamber within the framework of the “New Horizons for External Expansion” initiative, which aims to support the expansion of local companies towards promising global markets and strengthen their international partnerships.
Representatives of 24 companies operating in Dubai in various sectors including construction, building materials and engineering participated in the trade mission. In addition to electronics, environmental solutions, and fast-trading consumer goods. Along with food and beverages, healthcare, ICT and innovation, as well as retail, manufacturing and investments.
Business Forum
As part of the mission’s activities, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce organized the “Dubai – South Africa Business Forum”, in cooperation with the country’s embassy and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition in the Republic of South Africa. South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The forum attracted 520 participants, including a group of senior officials, business leaders, and representatives of local companies interested in exploring opportunities for partnership and cooperation between the two parties.
The forum witnessed welcoming speeches in addition to an introductory presentation from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition of the Republic of South Africa.
Growing South African investments
The value of non-oil trade between Dubai and South Africa amounted to AED 29.2 billion in 2025. Recording a remarkable growth of more than 265% over the past ten years, compared to 8 billion dirhams in 2016.
This growth was also reflected in the growing presence of South African companies within the Dubai business community. 45 new companies from South Africa joined the Chamber’s membership during the first quarter of this year. This brings the total number of active South African companies registered as members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to 873 companies.
