As one of the leading leisure and hotel management companies in South Africa, First Group prides itself on being at the forefront of the hospitality industry. It’s no surprise, therefore, that they recently added two resorts in the Western and Eastern Cape to their management stable. Shaun Lamont, Managing Director of First Group says that the Group wanted to broaden their offering through the acquisition of two gems – Brookes Hill Suites in the friendly city of Gqeberha and Hermanus Beach Club in the idyllic coastal town of Hermanus, famous for its whale watching. “We are delighted that through these acquisitions, our guests now have the choice of two new destinations to visit in our beautiful country at quality, self-catering resorts with so much to offer.” According to Shaun, Hermanus Beach Club, built on the rocky coastline of Hermanus in the Overberg district and just over 100km from Cape Town, is known as a home-away-from-home. “All units have their own built-in braai, selected DSTV channels and a private balcony or patio offering stunning, partial sea views. The well-equipped kitchens are self-catering for guests to cook up a storm!” He adds that The Beach Club has entertainment for all ages, including tennis and squash courts, adult and children’s swimming pools, putt-putt, a gym, pool tables, and communal braai areas. Hermanus also has several tourist attractions apart from whale watching, with wineries including Creation Wines, the Village Square and the blue flag Grotto Beach. The second new feather in First Group’s cap, Brookes Hill Suites, overlooks Algoa Bay in Gqeberha with beautiful ocean views and waves lapping a mere 200m away. Shaun explains that apart from being just a minute’s walk away from a top-rated beach, the resort features an outdoor pool, and each apartment has a patio or balcony with a gas braai available on request, WiFi, a fully equipped kitchen, flat-screen TV with satellite channels and private parking. Guests can also enjoy a communal braai area where firewood can be used next to the gazebo. “Brookes Hill Suites lends itself to the traditional family beach holiday that never gets old and is well-positioned for keen walkers and bikers, but with the Boardwalk Casino, Shamwari Game Reserve, Splash Waterworld, dolphin and whale watching excursions, the 18-hole Humewood golf course, and Bayworld marine-themed museum all on its doorstep, it is also perfect for the adventure-seeker.” “For more than 30 years, First Group has been delivering world-class holiday destinations that offer unique experiences and create magical, lasting memories for everyone, all the time. We are very proud of our two latest acquisitions which, like all our other hotels and resorts, were carefully chosen to ensure our guests can enjoy maximum relaxation and fun in beautiful surroundings. Whether your idea of a vacation is to lie at the pool enjoying a cocktail whilst watching the world go by, visiting local tourist attractions and experiencing “local is lekka” or on the hunt for adventure, we’ve definitely got you covered,” concludes Shaun. For more information about these properties, or to make a reservation, please visit www.firstgroup-sa.co.za.
2022
Help Young Girls Go to School
Together with its customers, over the next two months, SPAR will once again be making a massive impact in the lives of girls through its Petals Pledge a Pack initiative. Now in its second year, through this campaign, the national retailer is ensuring that young girls don’t have to put their education on hold when they have their periods. “Every year, young girls miss school as they simply cannot afford sanitary products,” says Bhavna Sanker, SPAR’s Brand Promotion and Advertising Manager. “We believe that education should not stop when periods start, so through the SPAR Petals Pledge a Pack campaign, we are once again encouraging our shoppers to join us in the fight to end period poverty and keep young girls in school.” Research conducted by the Stellenbosch University Law Clinic in 2018 showed that 30% of South African girls aged between 10 and 18 skip school during their menstrual cycle. These youngsters simply cannot afford sanitary products and as a result, they miss three to five days of school every month, which adds up to around 50 school days being lost every year. “At SPAR, we believe that every girl has a right to an education as this serves as a springboard out of poverty and into a world of possibilities. This motivated the start of the SPAR Petals Pledge a Pack initiative in 2021 and with the support of our stores and our shoppers, it proved to be a massive success,” says Bhavna. With 646 SPAR stores in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland participating in the initial campaign, over a five-week period, shoppers donated more than 130 000 packs worth R500 000. As every store got to choose a local school to support, more than 640 schools were impacted across the Southern African region. “Through the campaign, our customers were encouraged to purchase a pack of SPAR Petals Classic Sanitary Pads 8’s for only R5 and donate these at participating stores. Working with a range of partners, these were collected and distributed to schools, successfully reaching the girls who needed them the most,” explains Bhavna. One of SPAR’s partners in this initiative has been the BAWSS Foundation, a women-led organisation committed to ensuring that every girl and young woman in Eswatini has access to quality menstrual hygiene products. Through this partnership, 23 000 sanitary pads were collected reaching 10 500 girls and young woman nationwide. Another SPAR Petals Pledge a Pack beneficiary, the Khazimla Project, has been able to aid over nine schools in the Gqeberha community. Renee Whittal, the Director for the Project reports that through their interaction with educators at the schools, they have been able to identify a further benefit of the project. “A less tangible benefit is the preservation of the confidence and dignity of the young ladies that we support. This all goes towards the long-term goal of the empowerment and ensuring a brighter future for these young ladies,” says Renee. Bhavna says that the feedback SPAR has received from its partners has been nothing short of a celebration: “It has shown us how South Africans stand together to conquer challenges, that as a collaborative community it is possible to make a difference for these young girls by empowering them to choose education over embarrassment.” Bhavna says that with the launch of the 2022 campaign, SPAR is hoping to reach even more girls and raise additional awareness. She says the 2022 SPAR Petals Pledge a Pack will be running in all participating stores from 21 June to 31 July. Shoppers can participate by purchasing SPAR Petals Classic Sanitary Pads for only R6 and donating the pack at the trolley in the front of participating stores.
eBucks named the best in the world for the use of technology across all loyalty programmes
FNB’s free eBucks Rewards programme is flying the South African flag high on the world stage as it has been awarded for the Best Use of Technology and the regional loyalty champion of the year for Middle East and Africa, at the 2022 International Loyalty Awards ceremony held in London. The International Loyalty Awards (formerly the Loyalty Magazine Awards) celebrate excellence, innovation and best practice in the loyalty industry globally. Created by Loyalty Magazine, the awards have responded to a desire in the loyalty business to celebrate the achievements of those companies and organisations excelling and achieving the extraordinary. Being recognised internationally is an honour and a tribute to our teams who take pride in developing unique and innovative lifestyle solutions for our clients on our trusted digital platform, says Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB. “In keeping with our reputation built over the past 22 years, of providing customers with the best value-added services in financial services, we continue to grow from strength to strength in leveraging the most advanced technology and data capabilities to offer customers exponential help and value through their good banking behaviour.” For the regional awards, entrants across all categories are automatically considered for the regional awards. Each award has been won by the organisation or brand that has shown how they have operated the most innovative and exciting loyalty programme within their region. “The accolades attest to our ability to constantly augment our value to our members. We are delighted to have like-minded partners as we are significantly scaling our unique ability to enable customers to manage both the financial and lifestyle facets of their lives by using the power of our integrated platform. With our efforts being internationally acclaimed, we’re encouraged to continue adding even more value for our eBucks members and partners, especially during these tough economic times,” says Johan Moolman, eBucks Rewards CEO. eBucks Rewards has paid out over R17 billion in rewards to FNB and RMB Private Bank customers since …
Woman in business – International partnership set to create 1000 new jobs locally
Woven Solutions Group Limited, a UK and South African based technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has acquired a majority stake in SA Commercial (Pty) Ltd., a locally developed award-winning BPO provider based in Cape Town. This investment will accelerate growth for SA Commercial and the Western Cape BPO Industry, with the intention of creating an additional 1 000 new jobs in the province over the short term. Woven is expanding rapidly, thanks to its proprietary technology solutions, and intends to develop its partnership with SA Commercial to drive the combined companies’ growth globally. Renee Keeble, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at SA Commercial said, “As a purpose-based organisation, we live to create inspired experiences for our people, our clients and partners. It was therefore very important to find similar values in a strategic equity partner, strongly coupled with innovative technology. Together, Woven and SA Commercial display dynamic, extensive leadership experience in managing FTSE-100 clients. So, it comes as no surprise that we have already forged partnerships with key clients abroad.” Paula Constant, Chief Executive Officer at Woven added: “I am delighted to welcome SA Commercial to Woven’s Global Group, as we accelerate our growth and investment strategy in South Africa. Strong worldwide brands trust SA Commercial to deliver amazing experiences for their customers. Woven and SA Commercial has a unique proposition in the marketplace, powering personalised customer interactions with AI and automation, thanks to Woven’s proprietary software, which specialises in bespoke customer journeys. We have had the privilege of becoming a part of a community with shared values. BPO is first and foremost about people and SA Commercial, led by Renee, has a strong culture of engagement and community. For a truly personalised customer experience, this is critical.” “This is a significant milestone and win for SA Commercial and the entire BPO industry,” says Clayton Williams, CEO of CAPEBPO. SA Commercial has demonstrated that proudly SA BPO businesses can be a force to reckon with on a global scale. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the SA Commercial team and to welcome Woven to Cape Town and South Africa. We are confident this partnership will yield many successes and happy customers!” Reshni Singh, CEO of BPESA, added, “BPESA as the national industry body and trade association for Global Business Services in South Africa is delighted by the announcement of another premium brand firmly establishing themselves in the country. We are thrilled that Woven has chosen to invest in South Africa through its partnership with SA Commercial, an innovative and credible BPO that has stood the test of time and represented the country well under dynamic leadership over the years. We look forward to working with Woven and the SA Commercial leadership team to help achieve the anticipated growth goals in South Africa.” Keeble concludes, “We are super excited to pursue international scale alongside Woven. Together we will deliver strategic operational expertise, develop innovative offerings and well-articulated value creation. We are proud to be part of the global shift and look forward to this next chapter in our journey.
A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE IS INCLUDED
According to Ipsos Global Advisor Inclusiveness Index, South Africa has been named as one of the most inclusive nations in the world – behind only Canada and the USA – when it comes to social acceptance on the basis of religion, immigration, sexual orientation, gender identity, political views, and criminal background. Notably, while South Africans are near the top of the rankings when it comes to religion, immigrants and Queer culture Inclusiveness – the legacy of exclusion is still present, which means finding the freedom to be authentically and bravely you – is not always as easy as it should be. To help normalise and celebrate the joy of inclusivity , NESTLÉ CREMORA launched the Joy of Inclusion campaign, which looks to deepen the conversation around inclusion – using real life heroes who’ve had to fight to fit in. This is one way NESTLÉ CREMORA is actively building good communities by playing an active and meaningful role to amplify the voices of the marginalised while driving actions that make a real Impact. The Albinism community is one of the groups in South Africa that face discrimination in many ways. Persons With Albinism are normally socially isolated and have to live in constant fear due to misunderstanding of their condition. NESTLÉ CREMORA aims to encourage South Africa and the rest of Africa to feel the joy of being inclusive. By doing so, the brand has recognized Mpho Mofokeng to represent the Albinism community in celebrating, feeling, and sharing the Joy Of Inclusion. Mpho Mofokeng is a 24 year old from the Albinism community. She is a model, and TV presenter, who has built a name for herself in the beauty industry. Through her social platforms, Mpho provides everyday advice on skincare products suitable for her skin type which also serves as a platform to shift the perceptions by equipping people with knowledge that can encourage inclusivity. To highlight the Joy Of Inclusion and spread cheer around inclusivity, Mpho has shared a few words on how people can collectively embrace inclusion in their everyday lives. She knows all too well what it means to stand out and sometimes be pushed aside. Despite this she has managed to craft a space for herself, where she can revel in her uniqueness instead… What does Joy Of Inclusion mean to you? Mpho: When I am able to be seen in a way that I would like to be seen – not just as my condition but seen as part of my community, part of the black people, part of women, and part of human beings in general. There is joy in knowing that you are included in the communities that we identify as, and that they identify us as part of them as well. That is Joy Of Inclusion to me. What would be the perfect world for people with Albinism? Mpho: The perfect world for me and other people with Albinism is a world where we can browse through a magazine and see an image of likeliness, see someone who represents us. And not only just representation but also being comfortable living freely, and not fearing that people will refer to you as a bad omen. Or call you names, but to be seen as an equal and human beings. So, a perfect world would be safety, presentation, and acceptances. How can the persons with Albinism who still live in fear find their Joy Of Inclusion? Mpho: I would say that find your people because at the end of the day it’s not everyone that will have a good option about you and will see you in the way you want to be seen and perceived. You know that you are great, talented and you know that you’re more than just your condition and attract people that see that in you as well. Knowing that will make you more confident as a person and will kind of put blinders to people who are negative, and people who are adamant in not opening up & broadening their knowledge and minds. …