MBABANE: The Made in Eswatini Consumer Choice Awards 2026 will take place on Thursday, September 17, at Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane, with public voting entering its final days.
The awards, held under the theme “Imagine the Impact,” celebrate products, services, experiences and designs created in Eswatini.
Voting closes on September 16, leaving nominees and their supporters with a limited period to influence the final results.
Melusi Zox Dlamini, Executive Chairman of A Peculiar People, the organisation behind the Made in Eswatini ecosystem, said this year’s response showed the growing role consumers can play in supporting local businesses.
“These awards were never intended to simply be a popularity contest. They are an opportunity for consumers to say, which local brands they believe deserve to be seen, supported and celebrated,” says Dlamini.
This year’s competition introduced a digital voting system powered by MTN MoMo, with each vote costing E1.
Consumers can vote for one or several nominees and allocate multiple votes to their preferred brands. The organisers say votes are only recorded after successful payment has been confirmed, with systems in place to prevent votes from being counted more than once.
Competition intensifies
With voting approaching its September 16 deadline, organisers say several nominees are building strong support in their respective categories.
Dlamini said the voting patterns reflected different forms of consumer support, ranging from established loyalty to community mobilisation and the strength of individual businesses and their products.
“What is exciting is that we are seeing different kinds of support emerge. Some brands have strong consumer loyalty, some are mobilising their communities, while others are benefiting from the strength of their products and the stories behind their businesses,” he says.
“The leaderboard can change very quickly in a consumer-voted competition. A brand that is behind today can potentially close the gap tomorrow. That is why we are encouraging all nominees not to assume the result may already be decided.”
The official awards platform provides live results based on confirmed votes. At the time of publication, the live results system was still synchronising its latest confirmed information.
Organisers said the final positions would only be established after voting closes.
For Dlamini, the importance of the awards goes beyond determining which businesses receive recognition.
“The bigger story is that every vote represents a consumer making an economic choice,” he says.
“Every buying decision is economic activism. When we deliberately choose a product, service, experience or design created here in Eswatini, we are helping create demand. Demand creates markets, markets create businesses, and businesses create opportunities and jobs.”
The Consumer Choice Awards form part of the wider Made in Eswatini® movement, which seeks to strengthen consumer confidence, visibility and market access for responsible enterprises that produce, transform, design or deliver products and services from Eswatini.
The Made in Eswatini definition was launched by HRH Princess Sakhizwe on July 10, 2026.
Under the definition, qualifying products, services, experiences and designs must be genuinely created, produced, transformed or delivered from Eswatini by responsible enterprises.
Final call for votes
With the voting deadline approaching, Dlamini has called on consumers to participate before the close of voting on September 16.
“This is the final stretch. If there is a local brand you believe in, now is the time to show it,” he says.
“Don’t simply tell them you support them. Vote for them. Share their story. Buy from them. Recommend them. Because ultimately, the impact we imagine for Eswatini has to be built through millions of small decisions made by consumers every day.”
The winners will be announced at the Made in Eswatini Consumer Choice Awards 2026 on Thursday, September 17, at Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane.
The ceremony is expected to bring together nominees, previous winners, partners, sponsors, business leaders and other stakeholders to celebrate enterprises contributing to Eswatini’s economic development.
Public voting remains open until September 16, 2026, through the official Made in Eswatini Consumer Choice Awards platform, with votes processed through MTN MoMo.
Leave a comment