Season’s greetings, and compliments of the new year.

The past year has been a rollercoaster ride filled with its highs and lows. Though 2025 was a year of mixed fortunes, we are pleased that the economy closed off the year on a high with the rand strengthening to just R16.49 against the US dollar, the strongest it has been in more than a year. 2025 also wrapped up with a trade surplus of a whopping R37.7 billion in November against the rest of the world, including our neighbouring countries.

We enter 2026 on the back of a bullish economic performance which bodes welk for our local producers and consumers. We kick off our buy local campaign at the start of the year with the Janu-worry Cabbage Challenge where we call upon South Africans to unleash their culinary skills by showcasing ingenious and exciting ways to turn the humble cabbage into a delectable, mouth-watering dish.

So, grab that apron, dust off those family recipes, and blow our socks off with that video where you transform this simple staple food into a lip-smacking meal. You stand a chance to be one of the ten lucky winners to pocket R5000 which will go a long way towards chasing away those Janu-worry blues. The popular Janu-Worry Cabbage Challenge is one of the innovative and fun ways that Proudly South African embarks on to support the local Agri-processing sector.

I am certain that many parents and caregivers cannot wait to bundle off their kids to school after a nearly two-month break. As we stock up on those school essentials such as stationery and school uniforms, we once again urge you to support local industries by buying South African made products. For many companies operating within this space, the month of January represents the high spending season that enables them to remain afloat for the rest of the year. Let’s give them that much-needed lifeline by using our hard-earned money wisely to help them to sustain jobs and to scale up.

The Buy Local Summit & Expo is on the horizon and preparations are in earnest to host another successful event. We have already shared a save the date on our social media platforms to host this much-anticipated event on 16 and 17 March. We urge our members to make reservations as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

I believe that there are exceptional stories that our members have experienced. We all love a good story. We would love to hear those heart-warming stories of growth, resilience, and success.

Despite the turbulent year that we had, I firmly believe that we are on a cusp of a new era. We need to build on the momentum of the strong economic growth trajectory we recorded at the twilight of 2025. That robust momentum has set the scene for a future of opportunities and prosperity. Let us all play our part in turning things around by putting our money where our mouth is – by being proudly South African and supporting our home-grown sectors and industries.

For information on South African products to look forward to, please contact our team at [email protected]. We will gladly share insights from our trusted member stakeholders.
Remember to check out Proudly SA’s latest CI document to see the various ways in which you as a member of Proudly SA can use our logo on all your qualifying products, websites, and other marketing material.

Should you have any questions or suggestions, or would like to collaborate on future initiatives, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Should you wish to share with the newsletter team any milestones, events, awards, or sales, please send your email to [email protected]. We value your feedback and involvement in shaping the course of our movement.