WeeklySA_AdminUNITY: The Women African Tourism Board has endorsed the Vukani Fashion Awards 2026 as a catalyst for cultural diplomacy, tourism and intra-African trade, while recognising founder Sonwabile Ndamase’s four-decade contribution to African fashion and inviting him to a leadership summit in Nigeria…
By Len Maseko
The Women African Tourism Board (WATB) has officially endorsed the Vukani Fashion Awards 2026 – Threads of Unity, describing the initiative as a powerful Pan-African platform that promotes cultural diplomacy, creative enterprise, tourism development and stronger collaboration across the continent.
The endorsement also recognises the remarkable journey of Sonwabile Ndamase, one of South Africa’s most influential fashion pioneers whose nearly four decades in the industry have helped shape the country’s fashion landscape while opening doors for generations of emerging designers.
In a formal statement, WATB said the Threads of Unity concept demonstrates how Africa’s creative economy can become a powerful instrument for unity, economic participation, youth empowerment and stronger South Africa-Nigeria relations.
The organisation noted that fashion and textiles form a vital component of Africa’s creative tourism value chain, connecting heritage, identity, manufacturing, innovation and cross-border trade into a single ecosystem of opportunity.
For Ndamase, the endorsement is another milestone in a journey that began in the early 1980s when opportunities for black entrepreneurs—particularly black men—in the fashion industry were scarce.
He established Vukani Fashions, choosing the name “Vukani”, meaning “Wake Up”, as a call for people to awaken to new possibilities during one of South Africa’s most challenging political and economic periods.
Starting from a modest back-room operation, he painstakingly built a business that would later become synonymous with African elegance and creativity.
Recognising the need for greater opportunities, Ndamase relocated his business to central Johannesburg, then the country’s commercial hub.
The move expanded his market, connected him with new business networks and accelerated the growth of the Vukani brand, which would become one of South Africa’s most recognisable fashion houses.
Madiba shirt
His reputation grew even further through his creation of the iconic Madiba Shirt, the colourful silk shirt that became closely associated with former President Nelson Mandela and evolved into an internationally recognised symbol of African dignity, creativity and confidence.
Beyond his own commercial success, Ndamase has dedicated much of his career to nurturing future generations of designers.
Through the South African Fashion Designers Association (SAFDA), he established one of the country’s leading platforms for fashion skills development and mentorship. The Vukani Fashion Awards, created under his leadership, have over the years identified, mentored and showcased emerging designers, many of whom have gone on to establish successful careers in South Africa’s fashion and textile industry.
Recognising this contribution, WATB commended Ndamase and SAFDA for their longstanding commitment to African fashion development, creative industry capacity-building and preserving African cultural identity through design.
Like many businesses in the creative sector, however, Vukani Fashions and SAFDA faced severe challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The economic downturn forced Ndamase to scale back his fully equipped fashion training institution, which had provided practical and theoretical education to aspiring designers, particularly young people from disadvantaged communities.
Rather than abandon his vision, he reinvented it.
To reduce costs, he relocated his design studio to his home while maintaining the quality of his work. He also partnered with other service providers to ensure students could continue receiving training despite financial constraints.
Today, Ndamase is leading a new chapter in fashion education through a hybrid learning model that combines virtual classrooms with practical training delivered in communities across South Africa.
The model enables students from rural and underserved areas to participate in theory lessons online, while Ndamase and his team travel to their locations to provide the practical skills essential to fashion design. The approach is helping remove both geographical and financial barriers to education, ensuring talented young designers are not excluded because of where they live.
As part of its endorsement, WATB has invited Ndamase and SAFDA to participate in the SA-NG Women in Leadership & Investment Summit 2026, taking place from 24 to 26 July at the Abuja Continental Hotel and Ladi Kwali Conference Centre in Abuja, Nigeria.
The summit will bring together government leaders, policymakers, investors, development agencies, business executives and creative industry stakeholders under the theme “AU Agenda 2063 – The Africa We Want: Women as Catalysts of Continental Prosperity.”
Ndamase will participate in a fireside conversation exploring the creative economy as a driver of African trade and investment, fashion as a tool for cultural diplomacy and economic development, strengthening collaboration between South Africa and Nigeria, and building sustainable ecosystems for African designers and creative enterprises.
WATB will also confer on Ndamase the Pan-African Leadership & Cultural Diplomacy Award, recognising his enduring contribution to African fashion, his role in establishing the Madiba Shirt as a global cultural symbol, his commitment to developing creative industry platforms through SAFDA, empowering young designers and positioning fashion as a vehicle for economic opportunity and cultural expression.
WATB president and executive chairperson ambassador Moleboheng Matli said initiatives such as Threads of Unity represent Africa’s future by bringing together culture, tourism, creativity and enterprise to promote unity and shared prosperity.
The organisation said it looks forward to working with Ndamase and SAFDA in advancing the objectives of AU Agenda 2063 through meaningful collaboration across Africa’s rapidly growing creative economy.
