Experienced and highly skilled media and marketing consultant Nathi Gule, has been elected into the Executive Committee of the Southern African Freelancers Association (Safrea).
Gule joins the EXCO following his election as Regional Chairman of the Emerging Regions of Safrea within the same month.
Safrea supports, promotes, and advocates for freelance workers in the media and communications fields. The organization offers resources, tools, training, and networking events to develop the careers of our members, who range from students to seasoned freelancers.
Safrea has supported freelancers throughout Southern Africa since 1999. The organization offers members rich resources and training materials, as well as providing a like-minded community of creatives and much more.
Gule has been in the media industry since 2000 first on a full-time basis and then as a consultant from 2012. Recently he shared tips on freelancing on a social media live training powered by MTN Eswatini and Junior Achievement Eswatini.
Gule’s appointment was announced in the July newsletter of Safrea. The Chairman of Safrea Hush Naidoo wrote: “As the new Chairperson of Safrea, I am proud to introduce our newly elected Executive Team. Armed with a wealth of experience and equipped with lessons from the past, we have made meaningful progress in our short tenure of one month. We are committed to building a stronger Safrea – making a significant impact on the future of freelancing in Southern Africa.”
He also made mention of the portfolio Gule chairs saying the Emerging Region was established this year and is for now representing Mpumalanga, North West, and Eswatini.
The Emerging Region will also pool in other regions around Southern Africa to be overseen by Gule, in terms of membership and direction, while reporting to EXCO.
Gule expressed his delight at the appointment and committed to serving with excellence.
“We have already held a couple of meetings with EXCO and I must say it is a very professional organization that strives for excellence. I’m quite honoured to represent Eswatini at such a crucial association and promise to deliver with integrity and excellence,” he said.
The consultant is a former Eswatini Times News Editor who now runs his consultancy firm Eswatini MultiMedia. The company has been engaged in work with various top companies in Eswatini since it was formed in 2012.
Gule also has experience in the broadcast field as he was one of the founding creative team of Channel Swazi and now also is a key player in the digital marketing field.
“I joined Safrea 3 years ago because I felt that my growth would be stunted if I did not belong to a professional body. All they stand for is professionalism. They help with the right pricing, code of conduct and key tips to delivering for your clients to their expectations,” he said.
Recently he graduated top of his class in a course on Brand and Marketing Management at Vega School in South Africa. He also attained a distinction from the London School of Journalism.
This is not his first across-border appointment as he has also served in the Entrepreneurship World Cup mentorship panel representing Eswatini.
Eswatini Freelancers Invited To Join Safrea
On his plans for Safrea’s emerging region, he said he was currently finalizing their work plan with the other emerging regional committee members, but for now, the most important thing was getting in more members from Eswatini.
“I would like to invite anyone interested in freelancing to join the association. Membership in Safrea is open to any freelance professional in Southern Africa. This includes journalists, graphic designers, proofreaders, researchers, web designers, and scriptwriters to name but a few,” he said.
To apply you can click on https://safrea.co.za/how-to-join.
Safrea on their website https://safrea.co.za/ notes that in the media and communications fields the world over, freelancers are the backbone of this region’s industry.
“With budgets for full-time staff declining, much of the expertise resides in the freelance community. Clients overseas are increasingly benefitting from Southern African freelancers, who speak natural English, enjoy world-class educational institutions and upskilling courses, and have experience of global working practices,” the association states.
So no better time to become an accredited freelancer than now.