The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media.
Cape Town takes double honours at World Travel Awards Africa 2026
Two categories. Two titles. One very proud Mother City. Cape Town has been named Africa’s Leading City Destination 2026 and Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination 2026 at last night’s World Travel Awards Africa Gala Ceremony at Diamonds Bijoux in Zanzibar.
Often called the Oscars of Tourism, the World Travel Awards are decided by a global vote of travel professionals, industry leaders and the travelling public, making a win less a trophy than a verdict. The industry was asked where it wanted to travel in Africa and where it wanted to do business. It named Cape Town twice.
That pairing is the key point. The two titles measure very different things, and few destinations anywhere have both. One is a vote for Table Mountain, the Atlantic coastline and a food and creative scene with no real equivalent on the continent. The other is a vote for the machinery underneath it: the venues, the hotel capacity, the professional services and the logistics that enable a city to host thousands of delegates and make it look effortless.
“Winning one of these is a good night. Winning both is a statement,” says Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.
Apple named first inductee at One Club’s Brand Hall of Fame
In recognition of 50 years of design, branding, and communications innovation and leadership, Apple has been selected as the first brand to be inducted into The One Club for Creativity‘s newly established Brand Hall of Fame, part of the prestigious global Creative Hall of Fame.
Formed in 1961, the Creative Hall of Fame has a rich heritage of honoring the lifetime achievements of creative luminaries, including Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Gordon Parks, Saul Bass, Paul Rand, George Lois, and others. This marks the first time a brand has been inducted.
“It’s an incredible honoor for Apple to join the Creative Hall of Fame, because imagination is woven into everything we do. It drives how we innovate, how we design, and how we work every day to empower people everywhere to create their own extraordinary things,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re grateful to be recognised by an institution that has championed creative voices for so many generations.”
Apple has consistently delivered groundbreaking levels of creative excellence, working internally and with agencies Chiat/Day and TBWA\Media Arts Lab.
The One Club established the new Brand Hall of Fame to recognise brands with longstanding records of commitment to creative excellence, bold ideas, and contribution to culture.
FAME Week Africa announces finalists for the 2026 Inclusive Lens Awards
FAME Week Africa has announced the finalists for the 2026 Inclusive Lens Awards, celebrating film and television productions that are helping reshape representation on African screens.
Taking place on 29 October 2026 during FAME Week Africa the Inclusive Lens Awards recognise stories that challenge stereotypes, broaden perspectives and place authentic lived experiences at the heart of storytelling.
The 2026 finalists span three areas of representation: Disability Representation, LGBTQIA+ Representation, and Diversity & Inclusion in Kids Programming, across scripted and unscripted film and television.
From a Deaf teenager at the centre of a South African crime thriller and a blind Afrikaaps hip-hop storyteller reclaiming his own narrative, to Black queer coming-of-age stories, drag culture, African history and children hearing globally loved characters speak in African languages, this year’s finalists demonstrate the extraordinary range of what inclusive storytelling can look like.
“The Inclusive Lens Awards were created because representation matters, but authentic representation matters even more,” says Martin Hiller, Portfolio Director of FAME Week Africa. “What excites me about this year’s finalists is the sheer range of stories. Inclusion isn’t a genre and it shouldn’t sit on the margins of our industry. It belongs in thrillers, comedies, documentaries, children’s animation, reality television, historical epics and everything in between. These finalists show what happens when we widen the lens and allow different people to be seen as complete, complex human beings.”
For more information on these productions and why they were selected, click here.
First for Women Insurance is once again named as the Top Short-Term Insurer in the ASK AFRICA Orange Index
First for Women Insurance has once again been named as South Africa’s Top Short-Term Insurer in the ASK AFRICA Orange Index. Its win streak began in 2017 and its back-to-back wins in 2025 and 2026 make it the most awarded insurer in the Index, a distinction unmatched by any other insurer.
The ASK AFRICA Orange Index has run since 2001 and is South Africa’s longest-running consumer experience benchmark, built on large-scale consumer interviews that measure service satisfaction and emotional connection.
“A single strong year can happen for all kinds of reasons – a good campaign, a quiet season, a competitor’s bad quarter. A result that repeats itself, measured the same independent way each time, only happens for one reason: the company kept showing up.
“A decade of independent measurement tells you something a single good year cannot. It tells you that women who called us during an accident, a break-in or a difficult month kept experiencing the same standard of service, year after year,” says Dr Reitumetse Mpholle, First for Women’s senior manager of insights and research initiatives.
South African customers put Metropolitan first
Metropolitan has been named the top-performing brand for customer experience in the Life cover category at the 2026/2027 Ask Afrika Orange Index Awards, a result that reflects the trust customers place in the brand and the everyday effort of its people to put clients first.
The Ask Afrika Orange Index is South Africa’s longest-running, independent benchmark of service excellence, measuring how consumers experience brands across industries. Being ranked first in a category as competitive and personal as life cover signals that Metropolitan is not only meeting expectations but setting the standard.
Metropolitan’s strongest performance came in the life cover category, where the brand moved from third place in 2025 to first place in 2026. Ranking first among 12 providers, Metropolitan scored six points above the industry average and recorded the highest level of service satisfaction in the category. The proportion of customers who described themselves as delighted with the brand’s service increased from 59% to 63%, demonstrating progress in strengthening the customer experience.
Bestmed returns to the top again as 2026 Ask Africa Orange Index Medical Aid Industry winner
Bestmed Medical Scheme has once again been recognised for excellence, being named the 2026 Ask Africa Orange Index Medical Aid Industry winner. This marks another significant milestone for Bestmed in the Ask Africa Orange Index after taking top spot in the Medical Aid Industry category in both 2020 and 2022.
The Ask Africa Orange Index is South Africa’s biggest and longest running independent benchmark for customer experience across industries – providing comparative insights into how consumers experience and interact with brands across various industries. The Index recognises companies that have successfully delivered on the expectations of those who use their products and services.
“We are honoured to be once again announced as the 2026 Ask Africa Orange Index Medical Aid Industry winner,” says Leo Dlamini, CEO and Principal Officer at Bestmed Medical Scheme. “Healthcare can be very complex and personal, and our responsibility is not only to provide access to quality healthcare, but to ensure that our members feel supported, understood and valued throughout their journey with us. This award is an important acknowledgement of that commitment, and we are grateful to our members for the confidence they place in us.”
Soshanguve paint manufacturer wins Standard Bank’s R1 Million Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge
Maduwa Paint World (Pty) Ltd, founded by Rodney Maduwa from Soshanguve, Gauteng, has been named the winner of the 2026 Standard Bank Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge, securing the R1 million grand prize after emerging as the top business from hundreds of applications received from entrepreneurs across South Africa’s nine provinces.
The business impressed judges with its growth journey, industrial manufacturing vision, commercial viability and potential to create sustainable jobs and economic impact.
Maduwa Paint World has grown from a five-square-metre shack in Soshanguve into a scaling South African paint and coatings manufacturer with operations across multiple provinces. The business produces decorative and industrial coatings while pursuing plans to establish a local acrylic emulsion manufacturing facility aimed at reducing reliance on imported raw materials.
Judges recognised the company’s commitment to local manufacturing, industrialisation, job creation and its vision to build black-owned industrial manufacturing capability in South Africa.
