The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), in partnership with City Lodge Hotels and implementation partner Sigma International celebrated a powerful milestone in South Africa’s tourism transformation journey with a combined supplier day and informal graduation gathering on 11 February 2026. The occasion brought together corporate buyers, industry partners, and 47 graduating small and medium tourism enterprises (SMMEs) at City Lodge Hotel Waterfall City.

The event celebrated more than three years of sustained private-sector collaboration that has supported over 120 tourism-linked SMMEs across the value chain, strengthening procurement readiness, market access, operational capability, and long-term business resilience. Beyond the numbers, the initiative highlights a growing ecosystem of mentorship, partnership, and pay-it-forward leadership that is reshaping how enterprise and supplier development is delivered in the tourism sector.

A defining moment of the day was the demonstration of shared ownership by the entrepreneurs themselves: participating SMMEs collectively pledged and contributed towards hosting the gathering, a tangible expression of the programme’s “pay it forward” ethos and the maturation of a self-sustaining ecosystem.

A flagship model for access, inclusivity and diversity

For SATSA, the incubator has become a flagship expression of its commitment to Access, Inclusivity and Diversity opening doors to procurement pipelines, expanding participation across geographies and demographics, and strengthening the diversity of South Africa’s tourism offering through practical, measurable support.

For City Lodge Hotels, one of the founding corporate supporters, the initiative demonstrates how supplier development can be embedded into real operations, connecting hotel leadership, procurement teams, and entrepreneurs in relationship-based growth that extends beyond compliance to purposeful impact.

Sigma International, as implementation partner, has delivered a blended model of mentorship, digital enablement, ESG integration and AI-supported tools, ensuring scalability without losing the human-centred approach that underpins sustainable enterprise growth.

Industry voices:

• David Frost, Chief Executive Officer, SATSA: “This initiative reflects the very best of what our industry can achieve when collaboration is intentional. Access, Inclusivity and Diversity are not abstract ideals – they are practical commitments. By opening procurement pathways, strengthening capabilities, and building networks of trust, we are shaping a tourism economy that is more representative, more resilient, and more future-ready.”
• Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, Chief Operating Officer, City Lodge Hotels: “Enterprise and Supplier Development is most powerful when it becomes part of organisational culture. Watching entrepreneurs grow into confident, competitive suppliers is deeply rewarding. This is not only about contracts, it is about building businesses that will endure, create jobs, and contribute meaningfully to our economy for years to come.”
• Akash Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sigma International: “What we celebrate today goes far beyond metrics. We celebrate lives changed, confidence built and communities strengthened. The pay-it-forward spirit we see among entrepreneurs – from mentorship to sustainability initiatives like ‘Doing it for Tourism’ and the ‘Green Lung’ tree planting project – is proof that impact multiplies when ecosystems take shared ownership. This journey belongs to all of us.”

From programme to ecosystem

The supplier day and informal graduation gathering provided a rare and powerful platform for buyers and suppliers to engage face-to-face, accelerating real procurement conversations while reinforcing the collaborative networks that sustain small business growth. The initiative continues to expand through partnerships with industry bodies, corporates, and funders, demonstrating a scalable model that can be replicated across sectors and regions.

As the tourism industry rebuilds and re-imagines its future, this collaboration stands as a practical example of how private-sector leadership, association advocacy, and expert implementation can align to drive inclusive economic participation and measurable social impact.