Every July brings South Africans together to celebrate Mandela Month. It’s a time to remember Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy and focus on uplifting others. For corporates, it’s also an opportunity to align their business travel practices with meaningful objectives.
The team at Rennies BCD Travel understands that travel can act as a force for positive change. Through our Red Stamp Club strategic programme, we give clients the opportunity to include empowerment in their travel programme to create maximum impact from every rand spent.
Travel as a tool for transformation
In South Africa’s dynamic and diverse economy, business travel should be more than a logistical function. It should be a lever for transformation. That’s why Rennies BCD Travel integrates Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) principles into our offerings, enabling our clients to drive employment creation and business growth through their travel programs.
Whether you’re booking accommodations, arranging ground transportation, or working with consultants, you can direct your spend to empower small, black-owned businesses, women entrepreneurs, and youth job seekers across the country.
Red Stamp Club vehicle of transformative change
Our Red Stamp Club (RSC) program serves as the primary transformation initiative that assists Exempted Micro-Enterprises (EMEs) and Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSEs) within the tourism sector. We provide access to a B-BBEE-aligned accommodation and transport ecosystem that helps your spend go further, developing businesses, creating jobs, and strengthening communities.
Here’s how it works:
- Accommodation Programme: We partner with hundreds of B&Bs, guesthouses, and boutique hotels nationwide, vetted for safety, quality, and compliance. These establishments receive business support, marketing exposure, training, and access to our online booking tools, helping them to scale and compete effectively in the corporate travel environment.
- Transport Programme: Our shuttle and transfer network includes several small transport operators, who are empowered through training, health and safety compliance, streamlined payments and access to our centralised booking team.
- Small Business Incubator: We also support independent travel consultants – predominantly Black women – by subcontracting and integrating them into client travel programmes. These entrepreneurs retain independence while benefiting from access to our systems, licensing, and client base.
Red Stamp Club: changing lives beyond the transaction
The Red Stamp Club doesn’t just meet procurement checkboxes; it drives real economic inclusion. Over R200,000 has been invested in training and development, and countless businesses have accessed growth opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have.
By adopting the Red Stamp Club into your travel policy, your business can:
- Claim up to R1.35 per R1.00 spent with 100% black- and black-women-owned partners.
- Improve B-BBEE scorecards under Preferential Procurement and Supplier & Enterprise Development.
- Support job creation by enabling small operators to grow and hire.
- Access measurable transformation reporting and audit-ready procurement data.
- This is a transformation you can trace — every booking becomes an act of empowerment.
How to Take Action this Mandela Month
Mandela Month is the perfect time to reimagine what travel can do for your business and for the country. Here are three ways to act:
- Work with your Rennies BCD Travel account manager to include RSC-accredited suppliers in your authorised supplier list to immediately shift more spending toward transformation.
- Sponsor or Mentor a Red Stamp Partner
You can help local B&B operators and shuttle providers improve their skills through our structured mentorship program by sharing your expertise in business, finance and marketing. Your time, advice, and tools provided to B-BBEE scorecard programs will generate points for sustainability and long-term development.
- Book with Impact
This month, all your team members should use Red Stamp Club partners for their local business trips. You can find a trusted and empowered establishment that will host your team for internal strategy meetings throughout South Africa.
At Rennies BCD Travel, we believe it’s not just about where you go – it’s about the impact you leave behind. Through the Red Stamp Club, your travel can unlock opportunities, build businesses, and transform lives. Let us discuss how we can help you make a positive impact.