INCLUSIVITY
AN ALL-ROUND APPROACH Bheki ‘Ma-Events’ Twala, co-founder and executive director at the Township Events Business Council SA, has enjoyed a career in the events industry that spans 30 years. He talks to Meetings magazine on the importance of stimulating the local events sector.
B
heki Twala’s passion for events is tangible and, after spending three decades entrenched in the industry, he has become well known by Soweto’s community as ‘Ma-Events’ Twala. “It all started in 1990, when I was still at school. I started a youth club called the Best of Mates and registered it as an NGO,” he tells Meetings magazine. In 1993, Bheki received the Community Builder of the Year Award in the Youth Category. The awards were one of Dr Aggrey Klaaste’s nation-building initiatives that were launched as a partnership between the then local television channel CCTV, Old Mutual and the Sowetan newspaper. “The following year, I was asked to join Fabiq & Pead Marketing. At the time, they were responsible for the management of all Soweto’s nation-building events and projects, and it was here where I was then exposed to the professional events industry,” Bheki recalls.
SPREADING HIS WINGS
In 1997, Bheki launched Zakheni Investments, his own events consulting business, after identifying the need for better representation and increased visibility of events taking place at a grassroots level. “The township events industry is one of the major contributors to our local townships’ tourism and hospitality sectors, which in turn impacts GDP. This is also key because events have huge potential to create jobs and limit the social ills in communities,” says Bheki. Home-grown events are also a platform
for promoting townships’ local brands and showcasing up-and-coming talent, Bheki explains. “Township events play a massive and critical role in growing townships as tourism destinations of choice for both local and international business and leisure tourists,” he adds.
FRUITS OF HIS LABOUR
Bheki is playing a role in driving the establishment of structures such as industry chambers and councils, starting with South Africa’s largest township, Soweto. Bheki’s involvement within the live events sector in Soweto in particular has helped grow the local industry to where it is today. He has been part of launching many notable events, such as the Soweto Marathon and the Soweto Ink tattoo festival that took place last year. He now has his sights set on developing and rolling out training and education programmes centred on events, as well as building up the business events industry in Soweto. “We are sharing our industry experience and expertise with aspiring event professionals, and I am using coaching as a strategy to achieve the objective of turning townships into attractive destinations for events,” Bheki notes. His vision is to grow and preserve the industry for generations to come and to change the face and narrative of our townships. “We know that the events industry has huge untapped potential and presents a unique opportunity for greater social cohesion,” he concludes.
DID YOU KNOW?
Follow Ma-Events on social media using the hashtags:
Dr Aggrey Klaaste was the editor of the Sowetan between 1988 and 2002. He was a strong proponent of the concept of nationbuilding and deeply committed to recognising a truly free and democratic South Africa.
#WeAreTownshipEventsIndustry #WeAreTownshipEventsEconomy #IAmSoweto!
www.theplanner.guru
@Ma-Events Twala!!! +27 (0)63 539 3321
The township events industry is one of the major contributors to our local townships’ tourism and hospitality sectors, which in turn impacts GDP. This is also key because events have huge potential to create jobs and limit the social ills in communities.”
MEETINGS l SEPT/OCT 2020 •
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