Since lockdown, the 2019 winners of the annual Cape Town Tourism Board Development Fund have had to adapt their businesses.
The winners were announced in January 2020 and received finance to support their growth plans, as well as non-monetary support from Cape Town Tourism’s members, partners and leadership.
The businesses were visited recently by the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, James Vos, and CEO of Cape Town Tourism (CTT), Enver Duminy, to witness the companies’ lockdown operations first-hand.
The 2019 winners were tour operator, African Authentic Experience; T-shirt retailer: Tees and Gees; and catering company, Seven Colours Eatery and they explained to Vos and Duminy how they had adapted their businesses over the course of lockdown.
“It is no secret that the tourism industry has been hit the hardest by this pandemic and this is a critical time to support tourism businesses,” said owner of African Authentic Experience, Theo Makapela. “We are using the time to do a lot of social work within the communities that we tour. We are educating the people from our community, Khayelitsha, about the coronavirus, while providing essentials, helping with soup kitchens, and distributing food parcels to those who need it.”
Owner of Tees and Gees, Mpho Maphai, added masks to the business’s range and focused on pop-up stores in various locations to help meet sales targets. “I am grateful to Cape Town Tourism and the City of Cape Town for their ongoing support during this time. This hasn’t been easy for us, but we have realised that being innovative and responsive is key if we want to survive this.”
“I’ve needed to rethink my offering as events are no longer happening. I quickly needed to start trading from home and now I offer a bespoke service of providing cooked meals for dinner, which we deliver to our clients’ homes. This still gives me the opportunity to cook the food I love and build my client base in a safe way,” said Owner of Seven Colours Eatery, Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele.
“We acknowledge and applaud the Cape Town Tourism board for this positive programme, which goes beyond a cash-handout to entrepreneurs but creates lasting value by giving real access to seasoned and successful captains of industry who share their extensive knowledge and resources with these future tourism leaders,” said Vos.
