SayPro National Hemp Day 2023 – Celebration Event Speech
By: SayPro Chief Marketing Officer
Good morning, SayPro family, respected guests, community leaders, farmers, innovators, and change-makers.
It is with deep pride and profound excitement that I welcome you to the 2023 SayPro National Hemp Day Celebration!
Today, we celebrate not just a plant, but a purpose. Not just a crop, but a catalyst for economic justice, environmental healing, and youth empowerment. We gather to affirm one simple, powerful truth:
Hemp is Africa’s future—and SayPro is helping lead the way.
Over the past few years, the word “hemp” has moved from the margins to the mainstream. It’s no longer a misunderstood idea—it’s a bold solution. And SayPro has been at the forefront of turning that solution into opportunity.
Let’s take a moment to recognize the progress we’ve made together since we first stood on this stage in 2019:
- Our SayPro Hemp Skills Academy has trained more than 25,000 youth, women, and smallholder farmers across Southern Africa in sustainable cultivation, green enterprise, and product innovation.
- We’ve launched our first community demonstration farms, where people are seeing hemp’s potential with their own eyes—from textiles and eco-bricks to biofuels and herbal wellness products.
- Our advocacy efforts have contributed to greater awareness and early-stage policy dialogue with local governments, opening the door for responsible regulation and ethical growth in the hemp sector.
And perhaps most importantly: we’ve begun to change the narrative. Hemp is no longer just a conversation—it’s a movement. A movement that’s community-led, youth-driven, and values-based.
As Chief Marketing Officer of SayPro, my job is to tell the story of this movement. And the story I see unfolding today is one of powerful, homegrown transformation.
A young entrepreneur in Mthatha, who turned hemp into sustainable school bags.
A farming collective in Mpumalanga, growing hemp to restore their land and earn income.
A group of girls in Soweto, learning that their future can be built not only with books—but also with soil, sunlight, and sustainable ideas.
This is what SayPro is about.
We don’t just teach skills—we build confidence.
We don’t just promote innovation—we cultivate inclusion.
We don’t just market a crop—we amplify a vision for an Africa that thrives by taking care of its people and its planet.
So, where do we go from here?
In 2024, SayPro will launch the Hemp Enterprise Incubation Programme, supporting 100 youth-led businesses in the green economy.
We are expanding our partnerships with universities, municipalities, and regional bodies to deepen research, improve access to capital, and advocate for fair trade policies that protect small producers.
And we will continue to grow our impact across the continent—because we believe hemp is not just a South African story—it’s an African opportunity.
To everyone in this room: whether you’re a policy-maker, an investor, a farmer, a student, or a concerned citizen—your voice, your energy, and your commitment are essential.
This is not just SayPro’s work—it is our collective work.
Let us continue to plant, build, teach, and dream.
Let us turn this annual celebration into a daily commitment.
And let us boldly declare: the future is green, the future is just, and the future is hemp.
Thank you, thank you, thank you—and Happy SayPro National Hemp Day 2023!
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