South African’s helping one another in the midst of difficult times

Hosted by Over The Rainbow, the 2021 67 Logos Designathon was held on 19 July and saw professionally designed logos being handed over to 69 entrepreneurial businesses and SMEs – at no cost to the businesses. In celebration of Mandela Day, designers dedicated their valuable time to create unique logos for small businesses in need of a professional logo. Havas Creative also supported this year’s initiative by committing 67 taglines to the small businesses participating in the campaign. This fantastic initiative has successfully been helping SMEs for the past three years. Due to the pandemic, this year’s event was hosted online.

“COVID and the recent unrest has had an undeniable negative impact on businesses, leaving many people unemployed and many businesses hit hard. The reality is that entrepreneurs and small businesses are struggling right now. This campaign gives small business owners the boost they need to help kickstart their businesses and allows them to stand out and get noticed, despite the difficult times that we are currently experiencing,” says Lesley Waterkeyn, the brainchild behind the initiative, Founder and Executive Director at Over The Rainbow.

“The logo that I received represents my vision, and it gives my brand a whole new identity which is aligned with what we’re about and what we do. The process was not easy, as, during these difficult times, our shop was also looted, which left me defeated. However, the designer that I was paired with helped me realise that my dreams are still valid. He even came up with the expression “fashion gallery creative living’’ which made me realise that our brand is not just about clothes. So, we will be adding some new and exciting products to our brand. In the middle of all this craziness, something beautiful was created,” says Nothando Ntuli, Founder and owner of Fashion Gallery.

“I worked with Nothando from the Fashion Gallery whose shop was broken into during the current unrest in the country. She lost everything, which nearly derailed her business, but she bounced back amazingly and enthusiastically and is keen to get her business back on track and even expand it. This has been an amazing experience, the 67 Logos Designathon is an awesome initiative, and I am thankful to be part of it. I am looking forward to doing more and helping Nothando after this to try and get her business into the digital space so that she is not just relying on her physical store,” says Templar Wales, one of the designers that were part of this year’s initiative.

The event itself kicked off with a warm welcome from Lesley Waterkeyn, brainchild behind the 67 Logos Designathon, and Founder and Executive Director at Over The Rainbow and Dawn Nathan Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Over The Rainbow. This was followed by an inspiring “Humanity Matters” talk by renowned Creative Consultant, Ahmed Tilly.

“Some of the stats coming out say that 50 000 informal businesses and 40 000 businesses were affected during the unrest last week. The future of our country depends on sustaining and creating jobs. Entrepreneurs never give up, and these SMEs here today are the saviour of our country. This initiative saw 69 dreamers, entrepreneurs – coming together with 69 thinkers, creatives - working together to give us all a better South Africa” said Ahmed in his address.

“What stands out for me regarding this initiative is the heart-warming outreach from the creative industry to dedicate their time to helping SME’s and entrepreneurs, especially during this time of need,” concludes Lesley.