"In a member survey last year, members voted overwhelmingly for a streamlined tier structure that would best suit their needs and those of the organisation. It allows us to deliver targeted and relevant value to our members, in line with our three key strategic drivers – learning, growth and collaboration.
"We believe the new tiers bring us much closer to members’ operations and the pertinent issues that affect their businesses and indeed the business events industry across Southern Africa."
The new structure accommodates four membership tiers – student, independent, company and educational institutions. There are five types of company members – micro, SME, regional, national and patron.
Student and independent members join SAACI in their personal capacities.
In the micro tier, companies can enrol one to three representatives and in the SME tier they can enrol four to ten representatives. Regional companies may enrol 11 to 50 representatives and, while patron members and national companies may enrol an unlimited number. The set of related benefits depends on the type of membership.
Smith says a separate tier for educational institution partners was created, in line with SAACI’s objective to facilitate more young professionals entering the business events industry. "We have a renewed focus on the facilitation of industry education and training, to create an enabling environment for both new entrants and current industry players."
Different types of SAACI members qualify for different sets of membership benefits.
Benefits include the online SAACI academy, SAACI endorsed training programmes, workshops and master classes, the use of the SAACI logo as a stamp of credibility where applicable, access to the organisation’s database for greater ease of networking and business collaboration and other networking platforms like regional branch events.
Other benefits are lobbying on industry issues such as tender and transformational requirements and for funding of SAACI-led industry projects, advertising opportunities and special rates for the organisation’s annual congress and other industry events. Listings in the Business Events Africa and Meetings Yearbook are also advantages, as are preferred rates with SAACI partners such as FNB and Makro, translating into lower monthly expenses and improved cash flow.
"We thank members for their valuable input," says Smith. "We believe the new tiers will assist with access to a network of industry professionals, attract the attention of business leaders and address member value offerings. We are only as successful as our members."
