Clout/SA is transforming creative entrepreneurs to sector-leading businesses

Having launched in 2020, Clout/SA is on a mission to transform the South African design landscape and introduce the country's brightest creative talents to the world. But in business, creativity is nothing without nous, which is why Clout/SA has been helping designers to master the basics.

It’s this gap in creatives' knowledge that Clout/SA, a purpose-driven creative agency and business-to-business market maker, is successfully filling.

"The promotion of South Africa’s creativity, craftsmanship and heritage, as well as the creation of opportunities for collaboration between designers and makers, is at the centre of what Clout/SA does," says Tracy Lynch, creative director at Clout/SA.

Local goes global

The purpose-first creative agency’s founding project was the Nando’s Design Programme, and the latest is the Nando’s Portal to Africa, an online shopping platform for designer furniture that has facilitated more than R80m worth of sales across 25,900 products since it was launched in 2018, making it one of the country’s largest exporters of South African design.

Clout/SA has developed and facilitated one of South Africa’s top design competitions, the Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search.

"Our design programme was seeded in the Nando’s world, an incredibly visionary, proudly South African brand with stores across the globe. Local South African design is procured from our online platform and showcased in Nando’s restaurants around the world," notes Lynch.

Clout/SA also shares creatives’ stories and products on their social media platforms, and in addition curates local showcases at global design shows, including the Milan Furniture Fair.

Lynch adds, "We have plans to showcase on additional global platforms and are currently working on an exciting project that will be an excellent opportunity for our designers in the USA, but this project will only be revealed once completed."

The creative industry's impact on the economy

The creative industry generates dignified employment for many skilled makers, and links craft skills with contemporary furniture and lighting manufacturing processes. Creatives are innovators, and their resilience and commitment to this sector encourages a very positive opportunity for self-employment and the preservation of craft and manufacture in South Africa.

"The design sector gives a voice to young entrepreneurs and encourages businesses in South Africa to invest in local talent and innovation. Investing in the South African design sector awakens an authentic South African heartbeat and allows people to experience and share the meaningful South African stories ingrained in every piece of design. Design is a visual language, and its solution-seeking focus gives us hope and builds confidence in what’s possible for a future generation of entrepreneurs," remarks Lynch.

Business mentorship

An understanding of the business world is key, no matter what industry you’re in. It’s this gap in designers’ knowledge that Clout/SA is successfully filling, as managing executive Nokuzola Jenness explains: “We recognised that many of [the designers we work with] have incredible creative talents, but they were missing foundational business principles and practices.”