SMEs get logos for Mandela Day

22 Jul 2020

The 67 Logos Designathon on Mandela Day, 18 July 2020, saw designers giving of their valuable time to create unique logos for SMEs in need of professional logo design - at no cost to the businesses.

Lesley Waterkeyn

This initiative has been running successfully for the past two years and in light of the current crisis facing the country, CWDi hosted 67 Logos Designathon online.

The event kicked off with an inspiring “Courage and Connect” talk from Lele Mehlomakhulu, non-executive director at CWDi and founder/MD of MPower Solutions. Mehlomakhulu said, “The pandemic that we are currently experiencing came with a lot of lessons, and one of them is that identity is what has allowed businesses to thrive during this time. A logo is important for any business, as it is a representation of a brand, which people can identify with. Now, more than ever, it is important for businesses to maintain a positive image and show up”.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on businesses overall and many small business owners don’t have the funds to commission a professionally designed logo. The 67 logos Designathon allows them to stand out despite these limitations and provides a much-needed boost of confidence to help kickstart their businesses.

“I love this project and it would not be possible without the selflessness of the designers who stand up to help us achieve this! Small businesses need a boost and I believe that CWDi just stepped up to make a difference during these uncertain times”, says Lesley Waterkeyn, brainchild behind the 67 Logos Designathon and founder/vice-chairperson at CWDi.

Dr. Mark Vella, managing director at Sapientt and one of the logo recipients from last year’s event, lent a hand at this year’s event by giving away mentorship sessions to two small business owners who made an impression. “We had been running for six months when we entered the 67 Logos Designathon last year. We needed a logo for our brand identity, but we could not afford it.

I was very happy when our logo was handed over to us, as this meant that we could take our business to the next level. We are still using the logo that we received, and it has helped us grow from two employees to five. This is such an amazing initiative and I am very happy that we were part of it,” says Vella.

A total of 45 logos were handed over this year.