Gigster, the South African event marketplace founded by keynote speaker and founder Carina Bruwer, has relaunched after being rebuilt from the ground up. The new platform connects event organisers with professionally vetted suppliers across the country, replacing the fragmented mix of WhatsApp threads, email chains and PDFs that still defines most of the industry’s booking process.
Originally launched as a live entertainment booking site, Gigster now spans a far broader supplier base — including entertainment, audiovisual production, video and photography, livestreaming, décor and styling, hospitality staffing, speakers, facilitators, technical crews, content creators, event planners and promotional talent. The platform is focused on strengthening its South African footprint first, with longer-term plans to expand into other African markets.
“The events industry has evolved enormously in recent years, but much of the booking process still happens through disconnected emails, PDFs and WhatsApp messages. We wanted to build technology that doesn’t just help clients find suppliers, but gives suppliers the proper business infrastructure they’ve been missing — quotes, contracts, protected payments, the lot.” — Carina Bruwer, founder
WHAT’S NEW IN THE REBUILT PLATFORM
The new Gigster has been engineered around three pillars: trust, workflow efficiency, and supplier visibility. Key features include:
• Built-in quote builder and digital contract — suppliers issue itemised, professional quotes that automatically generate a signed booking agreement on acceptance
• Deposit protection — client deposits are held by Gigster and only released to the supplier after the event, protecting both parties
• Verified reviews only — only clients who booked and paid through the platform can leave a review
• AI-assisted profile writing — suppliers can polish their bios and taglines in seconds, with rewrites tailored to their service category
• Supplier dashboards — enquiry tracking, booking management, earnings and analytics
• SEO-optimised supplier and category pages — driving organic discovery for every listed supplier
• Pro Booker referral programme — for accredited event coordinators who source clients on behalf of the platform
A CURATED MARKETPLACE, NOT A DIRECTORY
Unlike open-volume listing sites, every Gigster supplier application is manually reviewed for professionalism, portfolio quality and event experience before being published.
“We’re intentionally building a curated marketplace rather than an open directory. Clients need confidence that the suppliers they discover are professional and event-ready, and suppliers need to know they’re listed alongside peers of the same standard.” — Carina Bruwer
FOUNDER BACKGROUND
Bruwer brings two decades of experience across both sides of the events industry. As a sought-after keynote speaker, she has worked extensively across conferences, productions and corporate stages — giving her direct insight into the challenges faced by both event organisers and the suppliers serving them. In parallel, she leads the internationally touring chamber-pop group Sterling EQ, and has founded several South African businesses in the music and events space over a 25-year career.
The platform is currently onboarding new suppliers across South Africa as part of its next growth phase.
For more information, visit thegigster.com.
