South African Dy President Mashatile visits Dilli Haat to explore India's cultural, entrepreneurial landscape
New Delhi, May 31
South Africa Deputy President Paul Mashatile, along with South Africa's Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, visited Dilli Haat in the national capital on Sunday as part of their ongoing visit to India from May 29 to June 3.
Mashatile's visit, along with his delegation at the open-air market, food plaza, and craft bazaar, was aimed at exploring the cultural and entrepreneurial landscape of India.
In a post on X, Mashatile said that he visited Dilli Haat to explore India's rich cultural heritage.
"As part of exploring the cultural heritage of India this morning, we visited Dilli Haat in New Delhi. Dilli Haat has become India's popular tourist destination where visitors enjoy live music, dance performances, and art exhibitions representing various states of India," the post read.
In a video shared along with the post, he added that the visit was aimed at understanding how India supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs), encourages innovation in the digital economy, and manages infrastructure.
"We came here to see how India developed its own society, looking at how they support small and medium enterprises, how they come up with innovations in the digital economy, and how they handle infrastructure, so we're meeting different companies that are involved in various sectors of the economy," he said.
He also stated that the South African delegation is meeting with different companies operating in India and exploring opportunities to encourage them to invest in South Africa.
"Some of them are already operating in South Africa, and some are preparing to come; we're encouraging them to come to South Africa. Today we came to see this market, this Dilli Haat, where they bring small businesses from all states in India, and they come and sell their goods here. Most of them are handmade, which is quite a good way of supporting small and medium enterprises, something that Minister Ndabeni is also now doing at home. So quite a good experience," he added.
The Deputy President arrived in India on Friday for a six-day working visit aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and giving "fresh impetus" to India-South Africa ties.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally, someone who appreciates our traditional crafts and street food! Dilli Haat is indeed a gem for entrepreneurs. But honestly, we need better infrastructure and support for our local artisans back home first.
Interesting to see a South African leader so engaged with India's SME ecosystem. Dilli Haat is a brilliant concept — a curated marketplace that celebrates regional diversity. I hope similar models are adopted in South Africa.
As a Delhiite, I'm glad Dilli Haat got this recognition. But we need to be honest — while it showcases "culture", many vendors struggle with high rents and tourist pricing. Hopefully, international attention will improve conditions.
This is smart diplomacy — showing our soft power through food and crafts. But I hope the delegation also saw our new-age digital startups and innovation hubs. Dilli Haat is great for culture but our real strength is in tech too.
Lovely to see cultural diplomacy in action! Dilli Haat is exactly the kind of place that shows India's incredible grassroots entrepreneurship. The South African Minister of Small Business Development must have taken some great ideas back home.
*Heartwarming* to see our traditional crafts being appreciated internationally. But there's
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