At an evening filled with glitz and glamour with entertainment from various artists and fantastic food, the ontbytSAKE business of the year awards 2024 were the highlight of the night! Around 300 guests attended the prestigious event, including representatives from the award finalists - businesses that are part of the ontbytSAKE programme, celebrities, and the public.

Awards were presented for various categories, with around 80 finalists across all the categories. These went through a process of judging by a panel of experts and viewers votes.

“We were excited to be a finalist in the awards and then thrilled to be announced as the winner of the Top Advertiser for large businesses”, enthuses Gary Corin, Managing Director of Specialised Exhibitions, a division of Montgomery Group. “It’s not the advertising per se, but the relationship that we have developed with ontbytSAKE over the past two years. OntbytSAKE has provided a platform for both our exhibitions and our exhibitors to receive valuable exposure leading up to the exhibition event. These exhibitions help stimulate trade in the various sectors they represent and play an important role in bringing industry together under one roof to trade, and to do business. We thank ontbytSAKE for this opportunity, and for this award.”

The association between Specialised Exhibitions and ontbytSAKE started with a conversation in March 2022 at one of its flagship exhibitions, Propak Africa. Electra Mining Africa, also a flagship exhibition, was the first to feature on ontbytSAKE in September 2022. Since then the relationship has extended to further events including Propak Cape 2023, and this year a full ontbytSAKE programme dedicated to Securex, A-OSH, Firexpo and Facilities Management Expo, and a full dedicated programme for Electra Mining Africa later this year.      

Raymond Le Grange, Project Manager for ontbytSAKE, who initiated the first conversation in March 2022, says that he is proud of ontbytSAKE’s association with Specialised Exhibitions and the way the relationship has grown to incorporate full programme features. “We hope to continue the wonderful relationship between ourselves and Specialised Exhibitions and, in so doing, play a role in growing the various events organised by them, and to also increase exposure for their exhibitors.”