FNB is proud to announce its three-year headline sponsorship of KAMERS/Makers – Africa’s largest artisanal market and a dynamic incubator of South African small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). KAMERS/Makers was born in 2003 when a group of women from Stellenbosch decided to empty one of their houses and fill it with locally produced treasures made by their artisan friends – hence the original name “Kamers vol Geskenke” (rooms full of gifts).
Today, KAMERS/Makers produces six annual shows featuring more than 450 makers and attracting over 60 000 eager shoppers. It has become the largest cashless artisan pop-up market in Africa, hosting a range of proudly local, passionately designed and carefully handcrafted products at each show.
The KAMERS Makers – local artisans, craftspeople, and entrepreneurs – create high-quality products that are crafted from responsibly-sourced materials and made by workers who gain valuable skills and are fairly paid. Everything sold is made and produced in South Africa by South African hands and using South African expertise. It is a platform that gives entrepreneurs a receptive audience, on-going support, and invaluable experience – allowing them to launch and grow businesses that enrich their local communities. In the twenty years since its creation, KAMERS/Makers has become an extraordinary engine for small-business growth in the country.
FNB has, for the past three years, been the market’s payment platform provider. KAMERS originally adopted a cashless system to reduce security risks for its Makers. Today, the cashless system – powered by FNB – has developed into one of the market’s defining features.By providing Speedpoint® devices to every Maker stall and creating bespoke finance solutions for the KAMERS/Maker’s artisans, FNB has delivered more than just financial support; it has provided a foundation for South Africa’s local talent to learn, grow and expand their own businesses.
Katleho Mahloane, Segment Marketing Head at FNB, says “FNB’s entrepreneurial roots run deep: for 185 years we’ve been the driving force behind unstoppable businesses. SMEs today account for 98% of South African businesses and almost 40% of our GDP. As the bank dedicated to helping South African entrepreneurs on their journey from Grassroots to Greatness, FNB is committed to funding and supporting the SMEs that make South Africa work. By partnering with KAMERS/Makers, FNB is not only able to extend our support for these talented artisans and entrepreneurs, but to enable a growing and sustainable SME sector more broadly.”
FNB’s headline sponsorship of KAMERS/Makers goes well beyond financial support. The partnership will comprise a range of activities, initiatives and platforms aimed at providing holistic support to artisans and incubating the next generation of entrepreneurs. These include collaborations with academic institutions, subsidised event costs for new FNB-banked Makers, and the Embryonix apprenticeship programme aimed at reviving the long tradition of skilled artisanal training, amongst others.
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