Brand South Africa will be supporting the UK’s South African Chamber of Commerce (SACC) Business & Community Awards on Wednesday 15 May 2019 in central London. The annual awards event is an opportunity for global South Africans to be acknowledged for their business and community achievements.

The UK is a key target audience for Brand SA given the number of British tourists who visit SA annually, bilateral trade interests, Commonwealth links and the sheer number of South Africans who live there. Brand SA was established back in 2002 to build South Africa’s Nation Brand in order to strengthen South Africa’s global competitiveness as well as encourage and support active citizenship among South Africans. Current UK country manager for Brand SA, Ms Pumela Salela, is passionate about engaging with South Africans in the UK to be part of her ‘glosaf’ (global South African) community. She aims to inspire and encourage others to become SA brand ambassadors abroad, whereby they can encourage foreigners within their networks to visit the country and also to get involved through business, charity or other activities to give back to South Africa.

The SACC offers 10 award categories which open to members of the public for nominations. Once nominations close, the nominees are vetted and screened then narrowed down to four finalists per category. The winners will be announced at the awards dinner at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London on Wednesday evening where nearly 200 South Africans will be in attendance.

Brand SA are key sponsors for the event with one of the awards being the ‘Brand SA Play Your Part’ award. This is awarded to an individual who in their personal capacity, or as a leader or key influencer within an organization, has their utilised time, money or skills to contribute to lifting the spirit of the nation, ensuring a better future for all.

The other 9 categories are: Business Leader, Business Woman, Innovator, Entrepreneur, Micro Business, Rising Star, SA-UK Trade, Lifetime Giving Back and the SA Community Support Award.