Our Woman in Jo’burg

The gov has appointed its first-ever dedicated business representative in South Africa as it seeks to strengthen its economic relationship.

Based in Johannesburg, Cecilia Albertyn will take up the role of business development consultant with responsibility for building on the strong relationship between the two jurisdictions in financial services.

The relationship between the Isle of Man and South Africa is a longstanding one. More than 35 South African businesses already have operations in the Isle of Man, and South Africans are the Isle of Man’s largest overseas population outside of the British Isles, with over a thousand residents.

Cecilia previous roles include spending the past seven years serving as vice president for International Networks at the British Chamber of Business in South Africa.

She said: ‘I am looking forward to driving even stronger business links between the Isle of Man and South Africa. A large number of South African companies have already successfully internationalised their businesses in the Isle of Man, a move which delivers growth and benefits to the economies of both countries. I look forward to working with South African entrepreneurs to help them to understand the scale of opportunity the Isle of Man represents.’

Michael Crowe, CEO, Finance Isle of Man, said: ’I am delighted that we have appointed Cecilia to this important new role. The Isle of Man already has an excellent trade relationship with South Africa – with trade between our two jurisdictions helping to drive economic growth on both sides. We have long had ambitions to build on this position of strength – Cecilia’s skills and experience mean that she is ideally placed to help us do that.’