GAA 4th Annual Conference is one for the books!

The Global Affinity Alliance convened in Cape Town, South Africa this year for its fourth – and arguably its most successful – annual conference yet! Cape Town’s unique location made for an exciting, memorable networking conference that many will be talking about for years to come.

“This was one of our best conferences yet,” said Brian Majerus, managing director of Global Affinity Alliance. “Our goal is always to connect our members and help them expand their businesses, but we also want to show them a good time – we succeeded on both of those fronts.”

“A big thank you to team GAA for putting on such a great and fun-filled conference. You are getting better & better and setting a higher benchmark with every conference. We are looking forward to the 5th Annual Conference. Thank you once again and see you soon!”
Hardik Vira, Velji Dosabhai and Sons Pvt. Ltd.

The 4th Annual Conference began, unofficially, with activities for early bird arrivers. Whether members participated in a golf tournament or walking tour, it was a great way for delegates to squeeze in some extra networking.

The conference officially kicked-off with a full day team building activity, sponsored by NTEX, which challenged participants to race through some of Cape Town’s most iconic locations. Later that evening, members met for a Welcome Cocktail Reception at the I & J Ocean Exhibit at two Oceans Aquarium. Thank you to Yawo Services for helping us put on a great welcome reception.

The first full-day of activities included a plenary session where group leaders took time to update the network on major initiatives, benefits and opportunities. Among them were Brian Majerus, presenting on the Consol2Xchange program; Bryce Barnhart, presenting on the group’s cargo insurance facility; and Ross Stemmler, presenting on All World Shipping solutions.

The plenary also hosted two exciting guest speakers, Dr. Shadrack Wasike of Ufanisi Freighters Ltd. presented on Shipping into and out of Africa, Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions while Margrit Wolff of Mercury Freight covered the Challenges of the South African Market.

After the plenary session and an afternoon full of One-on-One sessions, delegates met at the Shimmy Beach Club for the annual Gala dinner. Thank you to JCL Oriental for sponsoring the evening!

The last two days of the conference were reserved for serious One-on-One meetings where members had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with potential partners. This is where the conference has the most impact, enabling members to create new relationships that will ultimately lead to global opportunities.The group is already looking forward to its 5th Annual Conference, whereas members are encouraged to vote on the destination.

Thank you again to our conference sponsors for helping us execute another successful conference! Conference sponsors included:
JCL Oriental – Dinner Sponsor
OTX Solutions – Lunch Sponsor
Yawo Services – Cocktail Sponsor
NTEX – Team Building Sponsor
O Primo – Coffee Break Sponsor
isa GmbH – Polo Shirt Sponsor
Worldwide Logistic Partners – Lanyard Sponsor
GJ Cargo – Bag Sponsor
Export Consolidation Services – Pen and Notepad Sponsor
Velji – Mobile App Sponsor

2 Responses to “GAA 4th Annual Conference is one for the books!”

  1. Chevy Shum   October 18th, 2018

    Unlike the other networks GAA facilitate a platform for like-minded entrepreneurs and practitioners to develop sibling network so we all grow together at the same time. Here in GAA it is not about what you can take, it’s all about how do you contribute and cherish the relationship we build through the years from time to time during the conference and we change each and everyone’s mind.

  2. Romain  October 22nd, 2018

    For our first ever GAA conference, we had a great time. A lot of fun moments, leading to what we hope will become fruitful partnerships.
    Thanks Brian and all the team for the great organization.
    See you next year!
    Romain, CLAUNI – France

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