Client

Proudly South African was established in 2001 out of the 1998 Presidential Job Summit which was convened by the late former President Nelson Mandela. The country’s official buy local advocacy campaign is aligned to the government’s objective of combatting the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and above all, unemployment. Proudly South African is a membership based organisation, and only companies that have been audited and approved are entitled to carry the logo, which is a sign that a product or service meets local content thresholds and above all, quality standards. Proudly South African works with the public and private sectors to promote increased levels of local procurement through supply chain structures, and with consumers to change habits of every day store and online purchases.

Context

As part of the programming for the 9th annual and 1st hybrid ‘Buy Local Summit and Expo’ scheduled for 8-10 MARCH, 2021 Proudly SA partnered with ABLA to launch a pilot programme to enhance the skills of the emerging entrepreneurs to “transform their good ideas and businesses into Competitive, profitable and sustainable brands.”

Programme Design

The programme delivered was a highlights of the broader ABLA Brand Leadership for Entrepreneurs, encompassing, (i) the core principles of brand building, (ii) understanding market segmentation, (iii) developing a unique selling proposition (USP) and brand story, (iv) taking a brand to the market; (v) how to strategically align, leverage and balance personal and business brands effectively and (vi) measuring the return on investment.

The programme featured a facilitated virtual panel of inspirational and experienced entrepreneurs who shared their entrepreneurial journey and lessons.

The programme was delivered respected practitioners, thought leaders and advisors with entrepreneurial and academic experience.

Outcomes

In compliance with Covid-19 guidelines, a maximum of 25 participants were invited to join the programme live on-site at the Sandton Convention Centre for a face-to-face engagement while the rest of the members accessed the class through the Proudly SA www.buylocal.co.za platform. The platform was accessed by over 15,000 proudly SA members and entrepreneurs.

The programme closed with a survey among participants on the programme and awarding of Certificate of Attendance to the face-to-face participants by ABLA and Proudly SA.

“Our goal at Proudly SA is to inspire, promote and support quality locally produced goods and services. Our first virtual ‘buy local’ summit gave us an opportunity to partner with ABLA on the Masterclass on Brand Leadership for Entrepreneurs hybrid programme for our emerging entrepreneurs members to help build their capacity to transform their ideas and businesses into competitive and profitable brands. It’s a foundation we will be building on to make it a core programme for Proudly SA members,”
Eustace Mashimbye, CEO – Proudly SA