Programme Director,

Minister for Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr. Parks Tau,

Minister for Small Business Development, Ms. Stella Ndabeni,

The CEO of Proudly SA, Mr. Eustace Mashimbye and your team,

Leaders and colleagues from government, business, labour and the media,

All protocols observed,

It is both an honour and a deep source of pride to address you today on this important occasion, the official launch of Shop SA, Proudly South Africa’s new ecommerce platform, and the complementary Market Access Platform (MAP).

These two tools represent a technological step forward towards the vision long held by COSATU: that we need an economy that serves our people, builds our industries, and secures decent jobs.

As COSATU, we are not simply guests at this celebration – we are among its founding architects. Some of you may recall that Proudly SA itself was born out of the organised labour movement.

It was COSATU and our allies in the broader trade union movement who, at the original Jobs Summit in 1998, proposed the creation of a national initiative to promote the buying of locally made goods, Proudly SA.

Again, in 2018, at the Presidential Jobs Summit, it was COSATU and our sister federations who first proposed the creation of the Market Access Platform—a centralised digital tool to help connect large corporate buyers with producers, manufacturers and suppliers of locally made products. 

We are so pleased to see the fruits of our ideas in practical form.  We are proud of the team at Proudly SA for bringing this initiative to its birth today.

A Proudly SA that continues to energetically promote local goods, services and jobs, and which shows its entrepreneurial drive by trying to solve market access problems for local businesses.  

The birth of Shop SA and MAP.

We welcome and applaud the support of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the DTIC) in turning these ideas into reality. It is a sign that the State, when it listens to workers and their representatives, can be a powerful enabler of inclusive economic growth.

Let us be clear – these platforms are not just websites. They are strategic interventions in the real economy. They are mechanisms to positively shape South Africa’s developmental trajectory. They are tools that empower businesses, protect and create jobs, and equip consumers with the ability to drive transformation—one purchase at a time.

Too often, we have been on the receiving end of global trade, and more recently digital trade. Flooded by cheap imports, and now facilitated by offshore online marketplaces and platforms, South African businesses and workers have often struggled. These foreign platforms offer convenience, but at the cost of South African jobs, industries, and long-term sustainability.

But we want to shift that story.

Shop SA and MAP are expressions of our sovereignty. They allow us to claim our space in the world of digital trade on our terms, and in our interest. They represent an attempt to turn digital innovation from a threat into an opportunity, a chance to harness technology in service of our people.

Through MAP, buyers in the private sector can now identify compliant, local producers more easily, and meet their procurement obligations with confidence.

And through Shop SA, South African consumers will now have a new way to support local products—be they clothing, furniture, food, or crafts.

Both platforms will grow over time. We look forward to seeing how they grow, and playing our role in helping them to thrive.  

The Proudly SA campaign has, over the years, been a remarkably innovative and energetic institution. It has not allowed itself to grow stagnant but runs determinedly headfirst to confront the challenges of our economy with a diligence and flair that are inspiring to watch. Today, it proves once again that it remains relevant to the realities facing South African businesses and workers in 2025.

Now it is time for the rest of us to act.

As COSATU, we are committed to mobilising our affiliates, our shop stewards, and our nearly two million members to support these platforms.

We will encourage our members to shop on Shop SA, to promote it in their communities, and to engage our employers to procure from suppliers listed on MAP. We will campaign across our networks to say proudly and clearly: Buying local is not a slogan – it is a concrete contribution each of us can make everyday to build the country around us.

Every time a worker chooses to buy South African-made goods, they are doing more than shopping. They are casting a vote—for jobs, for dignity, for fair wages, for local innovation, and for a more resilient economy.

We must understand the power of our own choices. In the hands of an ordinary consumer lies the ability to reshape the world around them. Every Rand spent locally stays locally—it builds local factories, supports local farms, keeps our towns alive, and protects our sovereignty.

This launch is a call to action.

Let us take up that call.

Let us be wise about what we buy and Buy Local. 

If you are a consumer and you see that your favourite homegrown products are not on the platform quickly, please tell those businesses to list on the platform.

If you are a worker making goods and services locally, ask your employer to list on the platform. 

 The future we must build is one where we use technology to uplift rather than displace, where local goods are celebrated, and where the economy becomes a space where each of us – workers, businesses, and government – shape and share prosperity. We welcome Shop SA and the MAP as two tools on this road. 

On behalf of COSATU, we congratulate Proudly SA on this achievement. 

The call to action of Amandla, could never be more appropriate than this launch!

Thank you.