MEC Lebogang Maile: Opening ceremony of meetings Africa 2026 and 20th Anniversary celebrations

Theme: 20 Years of Building Purposeful, Quality African Connections Through Business Events – 20 Years Ahead of Shared Prosperity, Visitor Economy Growth, and the Building of Africa We All Want

The Minister of Tourism, Ms Patricia de Lille, African Tourism Minister present here today, Deputy Minister of Tourism Maggie Sotyu, Members of the Tourism Portfolio Committee, MMC for Economic Development in the City of Johannesburg, Nomoya Mnisi, the Director-General of the Department of Tourism, Chairperson and Member of the SA Tourism interim Board.

Chairperson and Members of the Gauteng Tourism Authority Board, Acting CEO of SA Tourism, CEO of Gauteng Tourism Authority, CEO of Joburg Tourism Company, Leadership and Management of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), Representatives of ICCA, IMEX and other Global Business Events Platforms present here this morning, Hosted Buyers, Exhibitors, Participants, Media Representatives, Leaders across Government and Industry, Distinguished Guests, Good Morning.

Today we celebrate 20 years of Meetings Africa — two decades of a proudly Pan African platform that has helped the world see our continent through the lens of excellence, reliability and partnership. We mark more than an anniversary, but a promise: 20 years ahead of shared prosperity, visitor economy growth, and the building of an Africa we all want.

Twenty years ago, South Africa leaned into a global moment that captured hearts across the world: preparing to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup - the first ever on African soil. That moment inspired confidence, accelerated investment, and offered the world an authentic experience of our culture - from the unforgettable soundtrack and the vuvuzela atmosphere to a spirit of unity that still resonates today.

In Gauteng, that era unlocked a wave of bold projects and economic instruments that continue to pay dividends known as the Blue IQ Projects. These included the Dinokeng projects (inclusive of the game reserve, the Cullinan hub and Roodeplaat), the Cradle of Humankind with the Maropeng Visitor Centre, The Innovation Hub, and the iconic Gautrain rapid link. 

It also coincided with new tools to govern growth: the Gauteng Business Barometer, the Gauteng City Region Academy, and a bold Gauteng Growth & Development Strategy backed by catalytic funding to retool the township economy and scale SMEs. 

Programme Director, Honorouble Minister, again in 2006, we enacted the Gauteng Tourism Act No. 3 of 2006 which established the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), its Board and paving the way later for the Gauteng Convention & Events Bureau, a business unit within the GTA to position our province as Africa’s leading, quality business events city region.

Despite court battles, financial pressures and loud sceptics - especially around the Gautrain project during that time - we stayed the course. Powered by our people, business partners, agile investment environment and a strategy anchored in jobs, reindustrialisation and township growth, Gauteng now stands on strong economic and social infrastructure that helped us weather global crises, economic shocks and pandemics.

From the inaugural event in 2005/2006, Meetings Africa has grown in step with this momentum - from early editions hosting around 1,500 delegates, 82 hosted buyers and close to 90 media representatives, to today’s scale with over 385 international hosted buyers and 3000 exhibitors, media and participants from across the continent and the world. The story is not just growth in numbers - it is growth in confidence, capability, convening power and quality African connections.

For Gauteng, tourism is not merely a tally of arrivals or marketing impressions. It is jobs for young people in our townships, new markets for small enterprises, revitalised heritage sites, thriving creative industries, large participation of new players, and improved livelihoods for women and youth-led township businesses and entrepreneurs. 

It is a safer, more connected city region that works in harmony with neighbouring destinations, provinces and countries. It is inclusive participation and spatial justice - deliberately activating all five regional corridors of our province. It is pride in place, new frontier for accelerated shared growth and reindustrialisation as we position Gauteng as Africa’s commercial and cultural heartbeat.

This approach is anchored in the Gauteng Tourism Masterplan 2030, the Gauteng City Region Economic Growth & Development Plan 2030, and the Medium Term Development Plan 2024–2029, a coherent policy backbone to deliver results at scale, on time, within budget and with global competitiveness.

Leveraging of the successes of Meetings Africa over the past 20 years, the meticulous hosting of the G20 World Leaders’ Summit, countless BRICS Summits and other quality business events in our golden province, our Spatial Model for Business Tourism and MICE evolves from a passive destination management tool into an active transversal instrument of economic transformation. 

We align with global MICE trends that prize destination immersion and local impact together with sustainability to ensure events leave a meaningful footprint in hosting communities and our strategy maps the benefits.

Overall, our message is clear – Five Corridors – One Province – Shared Prosperity.

Ladies & Gentlemen, our business and sports-entertainment events pipeline for the medium term is a powerful signal of credibility and readiness. It includes the South Africa Infrastructure & Water Expo at the Sandton Convention Centre in May 2026; LIV Golf South Africa at Steyn City in March 2026; The Basketball Africa League in Tshwane March 2026 and Analytica Lab Africa 2027 at Gallagher Convention Centre bringing specialised, high value scientific, technical and participating communities to Gauteng. 

We will continue to host Meetings Africa here at home, reinforcing Johannesburg’s role as the continent’s meetings capital, and building on the legacy of hosting the G20 World Leaders Summit. 

Programme Director, our work is guided by the Mpumalanga Declaration of the 2025 G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting — a declaration that calls on all of us to build tourism that is sustainable, inclusive and resilient. Its priorities are clear: digital innovation, blended financing, stronger air connectivity, and future ready sustainability across water, energy, safety and crisis management.

These priorities are not abstract commitments — they are the backbone of Gauteng’s competitiveness and the standard we bring to Meetings Africa.

As we move toward the Gauteng Investment Conference on 9 April, this platform becomes more than a showcase. It becomes the springboard for real investment into catalytic projects: the expansion of this Convention Centre, the new Diplomatic Convention Centre in Tshwane, the Vaal Marina Resort, Suikerbosrand upgrades, the Maropeng expansion, and the next phase of the Gautrain.

Our model firmly anchors SMMEs in the MICE value chain, ensuring real economic returns where they matter most. Between 2024 and 2025, signature events generated over R41 million in revenue for small enterprises, while township based suppliers benefited from increased demand for décor, culinary experiences and destination services.

A further R45 million flowed directly into township tourism through local events — creating jobs, stimulating neighbourhood economies, and strengthening sector competitiveness. The work at the Dinokeng Game Reserve and the successful hosting of the World Rowing Masters Regatta at Roodeplaat show what targeted investment can achieve: lasting infrastructure, global standard facilities, and opportunities that continue to serve communities long after the events conclude.

Programme Director, as we accelerate the Gauteng Tourism Master Plan toward Vision 2030, Meetings Africa becomes our launchpad into new, high value markets. Our China, India and Nigeria–ready strategy positions Gauteng at the centre of BRICS and Global South business events growth — expanding airlift, strengthening buyer pipelines and opening new association opportunities.

We will sharpen Gauteng’s competitiveness with seamless delivery, plug and play partnerships and world class service excellence, supported by direct access to industry leaders and decision makers.

And because business delegates must feel Gauteng, not just visit it, we are turning Meetings Africa into a 24 hour value engine — business by day, Gauteng magic by night. From our new GP Golf Tourism Route, to curated lifestyle markets, shopping experiences and music sessions, we are giving every delegate more reasons to stay longer, spend more, and return with their families.

Honourable Minister, it starts here in Gauteng. Today, we present a bold proposition to you and the National Convention Bureau: join us in shaping the next generation of Africa’s business events architects. Together, we can build a pipeline of youth and future MICE professionals, developed on our campuses and prepared to lead this sector with confidence and creativity.

This initiative will ignite tomorrow’s planners and innovators, and make Meetings Africa Youth Day a permanent force for talent development. Because a micro credential today is a job, a skill and an opportunity tomorrow.

So, Honourable Minister — let’s build this future together. Let’s open real pathways into the visitor economy and create a new wave of leaders who will carry Africa’s business events sector forward.

When a destination hosts business events consistently and well, the impact is transformative: hotels fill up, transport and logistics surge, venues across all corridors benefit, visitor spending rises, jobs are created, skills are strengthened, and a reliable pipeline of investable opportunities takes shape. This is how business events drive real, sustained socio economic growth.

Honourable Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why Meetings Africa is not just a showcase — it is a powerful engine of inclusive prosperity, forging shared values, deep partnerships and purposeful connections that advance the African Union’s Agenda 2065. 

In conclusion

As we honour 20 years of Meetings Africa, we also set our sights on the next 20 golden years: a future of purposeful African connections, shared prosperity, and a globally competitive visitor economy that leaves no region or anyone behind. We are looking forward to a continent that is connected, robust and impossible to ignore.

And in that spirit, I am reminded of the wisdom of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who warned us that:

“Unity will not make us rich, but it can make it difficult for Africa and the African peoples to be disregarded and humiliated.”  His message remains profoundly relevant today:

When we unite our markets, when we connect our cities, when we trade with and among ourselves with purpose, shared vigour and proven delivery, Africa becomes unstoppable.

To our buyers and exhibitors: bring your best ideas and boldest partnerships. To our industry partners: let’s deliver together - from corridor to corridor, township to township, business events venue to venue.

To our friends across Africa and the world: Gauteng is your home base — the proven springboard for doing business in Africa. Powered by global enterprises, a dynamic youthful population and SEZ driven infrastructure, this is where your next business event, association meeting or future ready convention belongs. 

This is the home of Champions - Home of the Soweto Derby – Home of Amapiano, Largest Stock Exchange in Africa and the vision behind the Joburg to Durban and Joburg to Mesina High Speed Train. This is the Cradle of Humankind – Kwandonga Ziyaduma – The Undisputed Home to Quality Business Events.

Thank you very much

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