Conference & Meetings World Issue 100 | Page 33

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 ISSUE 100 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 33