South Africa
into a subvention fund, which was
launched in 2017 as well as the continuing
high level of investment in conference
facilities in South Africa, which shows
that the MICE sector is viewed as a
growth industry.
Township potential
Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, the head of
South Africa’s national convention
bureau, told a media session at Meetings
Africa of the importance of developing
the MICE sector in the country’s
townships, citing examples of the bureau’s
own work (including educational and
social projects) in this area – for example,
the hosting of the top 100 MBA students
in Cape Town to conduct case studies on
small tourist businesses, and the bureau’s
running of an annual workshop in
Soweto.
CMW joined a bureau-organised trip
out to Tembisa, an hour’s drive from
Johannesburg, for a panel discussion
about the informal economy that exists in
the country’s townships and the
challenges they face (i.e. gaining access to
markets, marketing and funding support
for SMEs).
The discussion centred on how
South Africa can bring its formal and
informal economies together from a
MICE perspective to create a win-win
situation.
One panel member, Francina
Ntsimane, a creative industries
specialist working at Gauteng’s
Department of Economic Development,
was confident that, nationally and
provincially, her sector (which includes
film, animation, fashion design, the visual
arts and music) was ready to tap into the
opportunities afforded by the MICE
sector. However, she said, what was
missing is the platform to engage with
other people in the sector and an
opportunity to showcase local skills. This
was where exhibitions could help provide
such an audience, she noted. “Exposure is
the missing link, which is at the end of
the value chain, because exposure in the
creative industries is key.”
View from
the bureau
CMW SAT DOWN WITH AMANDA KOTZE-NHLAPO
WHO HAS BEEN HEAD OF SOUTH AFRICA’S NATIONAL
CONVENTION BUREAU SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2012
an you trace the main
developments in the SANCB’s
work since
you took the helm?
Before the South Africa National Convention
Bureau (SANCB) was launched in 2011 the
single biggest challenge was to get the buy-in
from the local business events industry and to
clarify the roles and responsibilities of the
national bureau. These stakeholder
engagements were a key step in developing the
business events strategy for the destination and
to align the efforts and resources of South
Africa’s business events industry.
In 2012 we launched the SANCB through a
campaign called Win as One at the South
African Association for the Conference
Industry’s (SAACI) annual congress in
Johannesburg. The campaign’s key message
centred around how the collective efforts of the
industry will enable us to create growth that
will benefit the country.
In 2013 we launched our positioning
campaign called Rise with Us – an emotive
message to key decision-makers to contribute
towards the development of our country by
hosting their business events in our destination.
The campaign demonstrated (i) how business
events contribute to the development of our
country; and (ii) how our development can
contribute towards the legacy of their events.
What do you consider the SANCB’s single
most important achievement?
The establishment of the bid support
programme, a financial or non-financial
programme to attract international business
events to a destination, which generally includes
subsidies to organisations/associations for the
execution of projects that are aligned with
government policies and priorities. This enabled
the SANCB to lend its support across the
bidding process to maximise South Africa’s
chances of winning the rights to host business
events.
From 2011–2016 the SANCB used its limited
operational budget to provide support towards
bid submissions. In 2016 it presented its business
case to the National Treasury to establish a bid
support programme for the country.
At Meetings Africa 2017 Minister of Tourism,
Derek Hanekom, announced the approval of SA’s
first bid support programme. Since the support
programme was set up, the SANCB has doubled
its number of bid submissions.
What are SANCB’s main strategies when
pitching for international business?
In the bidding process it is important to focus on
the success factors that the association places on
its events. Factors that contribute towards the
success of an event can range from delegate
numbers, legacy programmes and other
logistical and operational elements.
When we bid, we try to focus on how our
destination’s uniqueness can contribute towards
these success factors. We only bid for business
events that are aligned to the National
Development Plan and the priority sectors in the
plan.
Our new positioning campaign Meet Here,
Grow Anywhere, forms part of how we position
the country in the bidding process. The
campaign aims to demonstrate how South Africa
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