A NEW award for excellence in design will be a feature of the 22^nd annual Exporter of the Year competition which is run by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry and sponsored by Absa.

This was announced at a meeting of the Exporters Club Western Cape in Cape Town earlier this week.

Mr Michael Bagraim, President of the Chamber, said the award, which is to be sponsored by the South African Maritime Safety Association, would celebrate Cape Town’s status as the design capital of the world.

The design award will be the sixth trophy for exporters and follows the introduction of an award for innovation last year. The other awards are for excellence in exporting, for manufacturing and non-manufacturing exporters and for a small exporter.

The annual competition has become one of the highlights of the business calendar. Mr Bagraim said exporters were the champions of the business world because they had to compete in world markets where standards were high and competition was tough. “They deserve recognition and we are delighted to honour them. Design and innovation are essential ingredients for success and we are pleased that they will be a regular feature of the competition in future.”

Entries for this year’s competition close on August 10 and the trophies will be presented at a gala banquet on October 11.