Durbanruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Port, shipping & logistics
Transnet Port Terminals, Durban Container Terminal, Grindrod
The busiest container port in sub-Saharan Africa and the gateway for Gauteng's imports — the whole N3 corridor economy runs from these quays.
Automotive & manufacturing
Toyota South Africa Motors (Prospecton), Bell Equipment, Defy
Toyota's Prospecton plant is the country's largest vehicle assembly operation; it was flooded in April 2022 and its recovery was a national economic story.
Chemicals, fuels & the south Durban basin
AECI, tank farms and fuel terminals, Sapref site
The refineries in the south basin have largely converted to import and storage terminals since 2022, but the chemicals and tank-farm cluster remains a major employer.
Business process outsourcing
Contact centres in Umhlanga, Westville and Riverhorse Valley
KwaZulu-Natal is one of South Africa's two big offshore contact-centre hubs, serving UK and Australian clients from Umhlanga's office parks.
Sugar & agri-processing
Tongaat Hulett, Illovo, the north coast cane belt
The cane fields that run north from Ballito shaped the province's history and still anchor a large agri-processing and export industry.
Tourism, events & film
Durban ICC, KZN Film Commission, Durban July
Year-round warm sea, the country's biggest convention centre, and a first-Saturday-in-July horse race that is the largest social event on the South African calendar.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.