BYD And South Africa’s Creators: Two Stories Built On The Same Dream

The Content Creator Awards, sponsored by Samsung, is where creativity, culture, brands and entertainment collide, and this year BYD South Africa joins the mix as an Official Partner and sponsor of the BYD People’s Choice Award.

It’s a partnership between two groups of builders. BYD has spent the past few years building its story in South Africa through New Energy Vehicle technology and mobility solutions, not just the vehicles themselves. South Africa’s creators have spent that same stretch of time building their own, turning content into careers, communities and businesses, often from nothing but an idea and consistency. BYD’s name literally stands for Build Your Dreams, and for the brand, this partnership is where that ethos meets the people already living it.

The BYD People’s Choice Award is one of the categories that gets audiences talking because there’s no judging panel deciding the winner. The public gets to have its say, voting for the creator they believe deserves to take home the trophy, a fitting category for BYD to back, given that the industry the winner works in is itself shaped by what audiences choose to watch, share and trust.

And this year, there’s a pretty special reason to vote. The winning creator will be given the opportunity to fly to China with BYD on an all-expenses-paid content trip, creating an opportunity to experience the brand, explore its innovation and tell their own story from the home of BYD.

For a creator, that’s a pretty serious passport stamp! “Content creators have played a real role in accelerating BYD’s visibility and credibility in South Africa, they’ve helped build the trust and the brand equity we have today, and we don’t take that lightly,” says Nomonde Kweyi, Marketing Director, BYD SA. “This industry has largely been built by self-generating entrepreneurs who created their own income streams from content and brand-building, entirely on their own terms. If that’s not a BYD story, I don’t know what is, our name means Build Your Dreams, and it’s more than a slogan for us. We back partnerships that live that ethos, and that’s exactly how I see the Content Creator Awards. This isn’t just about the vehicles we bring, it’s about showing up as a technology and mobility solutions partner for a community we genuinely respect.”

BYD will showcase its technology and mobility solutions at the event, including the ATTO 2 in both DM-i and EV offerings, while also providing VIP transport for the out-of -town guests and talent attending the main event.

For Manuela Dias de Deus, Founder of One-eyed Jack and the Content Creator Awards, the partnership is a great example of why the Awards are so deliberate about the brands they bring into the ecosystem.

“The Content Creator Awards simply wouldn’t exist without brands; it’s the support of our partners that allows us to keep the platform free for creators and create opportunities around it. But we’re very deliberate about the partnerships we bring into the ecosystem. Each partnership is carefully curated to bring real meaning and value to the awards and to the creators around them. BYD is a natural fit. They’re building their story in South Africa, our creators are building theirs, and both are looking towards what’s next. There’s something exciting about bringing those worlds together and then giving a creator the opportunity to go to China with BYD and tell that story for themselves. That makes it much bigger than a sponsorship.”

Founded in 2022, the Content Creator Awards is a Not for Profit company that was created to give South Africa’s creator community the recognition it deserves. Four years on, it has grown into a broader ecosystem connecting creators with brands, agencies, media, audiences and industry experts.

The Content Creator Awards sponsored by Samsung Galaxy takes place on Saturday, 17 October 2026 at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg, bringing together hundreds of South Africa’s leading industry players for a night dedicated to giving creators their flowers.

And somewhere in that room will be this year’s BYD People’s Choice winner, trophy in hand and, potentially, a very interesting next destination on the horizon.

If you’d like a chance to win a ticket to the awards: Vote for your favourite nominee and you could win tickets to attend!

BYD People’s Choice Award

Anika Dambuza — SMS “CHOICE1” to 33622

Garfieldzar — SMS “CHOICE2” to 33622

Grace Mondlana — SMS “CHOICE3” to 33622

Olwethu Ncapayi — SMS “CHOICE4” to 33622

Tanaka Dube — SMS “CHOICE5” to 33622

And, of course, an awards platform like this doesn’t happen without brands willing to back the people shaping culture. A huge thank you to our 2026 partners Samsung Galaxy, BYD, Cars.co.za, Telkom, YouTube, Creator Club, eVOD, 947 and Ray-Ban, whose support makes the Content Creator Awards possible and helps us keep creating bigger, better opportunities for South Africa’s creator community.