Voting lines have officially opened for the 2026 Made in Eswatini® Consumer Choice Awards, giving consumers the opportunity to determine which locally produced products, services, experiences and brands will emerge as the country’s leading consumer choices.
This was announced by Chairman of A Peculiar People Melusi Zox Dlamini.
According to the chairman, the awards have entered their decisive public voting phase following the unveiling of nominees across 20 categories, with 194 Made in Eswatini® brands making the final list after an extensive consumer nomination process.
Voting opened on 14 August 2026 and will run until 16 September 2026, with each vote costing E1 through MTN MoMo. Consumers can cast their votes through the official Made in Eswatini® platform at www.madeineswatini.africa.
The awards, now in their third year, are positioning consumers at the centre of the recognition process, allowing the market to determine which businesses and brands deserve to be celebrated.
According to Dlamini, the organisation behind the Made in Eswatini® movement, the voting process is designed to shift the focus of recognition from businesses promoting themselves to consumers making deliberate purchasing choices.
“This is an awards programme driven by the consumer. They have nominated the brands they buy, the experiences they enjoy, the businesses they trust and the products they believe deserve to be celebrated,” said Dlamini.
The nomination process, conducted between July 12 and August 12, generated more than 260 entries from consumers across Eswatini. Of these, 194 products, brands, services and experiences successfully qualified for the final nominee list.
The nominees reflect the expanding breadth of Eswatini’s consumer economy, covering sectors including food and agriculture, fashion, technology, tourism, manufacturing, creativity, health and wellness, events and personal brands.
Tourism, Fashion, Health and Wellness, Personal Brands and Event Experiences emerged among the strongest categories, each attracting more than 10 nominated brands. The diversity of entries points to a growing local market populated by businesses competing not only on price, but also on quality, creativity and consumer experience.
For Dlamini, the significance of the awards extends beyond the eventual winners.
“We want to put the consumer with the actual brand at the centre of this concept – not the entrepreneur,” he said.
“A business can tell us that it is excellent. A marketing campaign can tell us that a product is the best. But ultimately, it is the consumer who decides where they spend their money, what they recommend and what they return to.”
He said the Consumer Choice Awards provide consumers with a platform to make those choices visible while encouraging businesses to understand the importance of earning consumer trust.
The awards follow the launch of the foundational Made in Eswatini® definition by Her Royal Highness Princess Sakhizwe last month. The definition establishes a clearer standard for products and services carrying the Made in Eswatini® identity, defining them as products, services, experiences and designs genuinely created, produced, transformed or delivered from Eswatini by responsible enterprises.
The initiative is therefore intended not only to recognise local businesses but also to strengthen consumer confidence in the country’s capacity to produce competitive goods and services.
Dlamini said the 194 nominees represent a broader story about local enterprise and the contribution of businesses to the economy.
“These 194 nominees are a snapshot of what Eswatini is capable of producing, creating and delivering,” he said. “They represent entrepreneurs who have taken risks, created jobs, built brands and continued to believe in this Kingdom.”
The 2026 awards were launched by Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Manqoba Khumalo and will culminate on 17 September 2026 at Hilton Garden Inn under the theme “Imagine the Impact.”
The theme challenges consumers, businesses, institutions and leaders to consider the economic impact of intentionally choosing local products and services.
The awards ceremony will also place local fashion at the centre of the consumer movement, with guests encouraged to embrace Eswatini brands and designers through a fashion theme centred on boldness, sophistication, sustainability and national pride.
For A Peculiar People, the ultimate objective is to translate recognition into market opportunities for local enterprises. The organisation believes that consumer support is critical to building sustainable demand for businesses that manufacture, create and deliver locally.
With voting now underway, consumers have until 16 September to decide which nominees will rise to the top across the 20 categories.
Dlamini urged Emaswati and residents to participate actively in the process, saying the awards ultimately belong to the market.
“Now we want consumers to do what they do best, which is to choose,” he said.
The public can vote for their preferred Made in Eswatini® brands through www.madeineswatini.africa, with each vote costing E1 via MTN MoMo.
