Cape Town International Convention Centre, 20-21 June 2018.
Next month Source Africa 2018 opens its doors for a 2-day exhibition with free-to-attend seminar sessions.
The overarching theme for 2018 is a focus on global and local trends, technological optimisation and trade flow agreements that will be brought to life by industry expert speakers. Part of this, will focus on educating attendees on ways in which trade can be made easier between countries in Africa.
The 2-day conference takes place alongside the exhibition that features leading industry suppliers from South Africa, Mauritius, Lesotho, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
"With a line-up of over 20 high-caliber speakers and a host of local and international exhibitors, Source Africa is the ideal platform for buyers, sourcing managers, technologists and retailers to benefit and learn from each other through interactive discussions and networking opportunities," says Kathryn Frew, Show Director of Source Africa.
Keynote addresses of the conference include the worlds trend authority, WGSN - trend partners for Source Africa, providing an authoritative view on tomorrow based on trend intelligence, retail analytics and consumer insights. Sara Maggioni, the Director of Retail and Buying, will deliver the trend keynote that will provide the ultimate checklist of the seasons key messages, items, colours, fabrics and print direction for womenswear and menswear. Daniel Silke, the highly regarded and respected political and economic futurist will also deliver a keynote which will provide a macroeconomic and social trend overview of the African continent. This presentation is essential for all businesses exposed to the African market and for those considering an expansion into new territories.
Other speakers confirmed for the 2018 event include; Robert Ritson, Managing Director of Berzacks Brothers, who will be speaking about “Smartphone sewing technology – the next generation industrial sewing system“. The session compares traditional technologies such as machine settings with the screwdriver and hand to the latest digital optimisations and its impact on productivity for businesses. Adding to the stellar line-up is Alberto Carolini - Sales Manager from UL Consumer & Retail Services. Clay Hickson – Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at WRAP in the U.S. and Pieter de Beer - Senior Industry Development Manager at the Industrial Development Council – to name a few.
Day 1 commences with a panel discussion analysing "Online vs Traditional vs Omni-channels" a session that unpacks retail platforms and finding the right balance between online and traditional platforms to target your consumer market. Other topics to be discussed include: Assisting Creative Entrepreneurs, Investment Opportunities, Trade Agreements between African countries and insights on the availability of funding to assist industry development.
"In an industry that is evolving faster than we know, it’s important to have a well-crafted agenda with a variety of relevant topics that allows attendees to take away knowledge on the latest developments, innovations and trends," adds Frew. The conference programme is open for all exhibitors and visitors. A new initiative this year is the Source Africa Young Designers Competition.
Source Africa has collaborated with WGSN - global trend forecast experts as its trend partner, to find the best young designers in the Western Cape. Young designers will design a single, retail ready, Women's Wear look. The competition is open to final year students and recent fashion graduates who studied at accredited fashion colleges in the Western Cape. Selected designers will have their garments showcased by way of a fashion show, where a judging panel will select finalists to fight it out on the runway for the title of Source Africa Young Designer of the Year.
In another first, the Source Africa Graduate Showcase in collaboration with the Cape Town Fashion Council will serve as a platform for students to network whilst presenting their designs to the broader industry.
Network with over 100 local and international manufacturers and thousands of buyers at the 6th edition of Source Africa which is aimed to promote the growth of small - medium size businesses, increase trade between African countries and improve on standards within the industry as a whole.
Book your free visitor pass online at www.sourceafrica.co.za
For the full conference agenda and to find out which expert speakers you would like to learn from,
please visit the website at www.sourceafrica.co.za and diarise the sessions most applicable to your line of work.
For more information, please contact:
Kathryn Frew, Show Manager
Kathryn.frew@za.messefrankfurt.com | +27 (0) 10 599 6171
Melissa Bender, Marketing Manager
Melissa.Bender@za.messefrankfurt.com | +27 (0) 10 599 6158
Texpertise Network of Messe Frankfurt
With a unique portfolio of 50 international fairs for the textile sector, Messe Frankfurt is the world’s market leader when it comes to trade fairs for the textile sector. In 2016, around 19,500 exhibitors and approx. 477,000 visitors attended the company’s events around the globe. The portfolio covers the entire value chain of the textile industry and, as the main communication platform, Texpertise Network is a source of information about the world renowned trade-fair
brands and the first-class services provided by Messe Frankfurt. More information: www.texpertise-network.com
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,300 employees at some 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €647 million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of
Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at:
www.messefrankfurt.com | www.congressfrankfurt.de | www.festhalle.de