For Ses’fikile founder Nqaba “Shakes” Mbolekwana, nightlife has always been more than a party. The Cape Town creative, curator, and DJ has spent the past few years building dance floors that feel intentional. But recently, his attention has been shifting beyond what happens inside the venue only. He’s been thinking, he tells me, of what happens once people leave. “A lot of people think safety begins and ends with well-written bios and event descriptions,” he says. “But there are things happening outside venues that leave people vulnerable.”
That concern became the foundation of Ses’fikile’s latest project. Earlier this year, the collective was announced as one of four global recipients of the 2025 Jägermeister SAVE THE NIGHT Fund, an international initiative supporting projects focused on safety, sustainability, inclusivity, and the future of nightlife culture.
Selected from nearly 1,000 applications across 62 countries, Ses’fikile stood alongside projects from Lisbon, Utrecht, and Mexico City, collectively receiving more than €156,000 in funding and support. The recognition feels slightly surreal for Shakes. “I actually forgot I applied,” he laughs. “Like everyone else, I just went through the online submission process and then one day I got the news that we’d been approved.”
The project that secured the funding feels deceptively simple, but it’s more significant than ever. Through the SAVE THE NIGHT Fund, Ses’fikile will develop and pilot a “Safe Exit System” designed to address one of Cape Town nightlife’s most common yet under-discussed issues: the vulnerability people face after leaving venues.
In recent years, phone theft and smash-and-grab style robberies around venues and nightlife hotspots have become an increasingly familiar part of the city’s club culture. “It actually started from a DM,” Shakes explains to me. “Someone who comes to our events regularly asked if we could create another layer of security after the party because of the guys stealing phones and running into cars afterwards. It’s something that happens all the time in Cape Town nightlife and it can completely ruin your night.”
Rather than approaching safety as part of branding language or surface-level promotion, Ses’fikile’s system focuses on practical, real life intervention. “It’s basically a plug-and-play walkway system,” says Shakes. “Simple in design but powerful in impact.”
The collective plans to build designated pickup areas outside venues, alongside temporary guided walkways staffed by trained security personnel and human chaperones who will escort guests directly to their transport. Cars entering the pickup zone will only be allowed to leave once security confirms the correct guest is safely inside the correct vehicle.
Importantly, the project is intended to extend beyond a once-off activation. Shakes sees the Safe Exit System becoming a permanent feature of Ses’fikile’s events moving forward, with infrastructure and equipment purchased through the funding continuing the project long after the initial pilot. “It’s going to become our standard going forward,” he says. “We’re going to keep refining it and improving it.”
Originally launched as an afterparty for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair in 2022, Ses’fikile has steadily evolved into one of Cape Town’s most visible nightlife communities, particularly among younger audiences drawn to its blend of electronic music with street culture and contemporary fashion aesthetics. Though their parties usually happen in summer, Ses’fikile has become synonymous with a specific kind of Cape Town nightlife collective rooted in community-building that leaves an impact all year long. It’s literally in their name, which translates to “we have arrived.”
Part of what makes SAVE THE NIGHT’s recognition of Ses’fikile feel significant, is how it validates the struggles smaller collectives often face while trying to create safer nightlife environments independently. “We just need more brands to pay attention to us and the work we do,” Shakes says. “I’ve been writing proposals and decks for a long time trying to build relationships and partnerships because at the end of the day, this stuff requires money and intention.”
The broader SAVE THE NIGHT initiative appears aligned with exactly that kind of practical support. According to Jägermeister, the fund was created to support projects “reshaping nightlife from the ground up.” This year’s selected initiatives range from backstage mental health spaces for artists to mentorship programmes for queer femme creatives in dance music. Ses’fikile’s contribution stands out because of how specifically localised it feels. While nightlife conversations globally often focus on policies within venues themselves, Shakes’ project addresses the anxieties that exist beyond the walls of the club.
That specificity also reflects a broader shift happening in Cape Town nightlife. Across the city, younger collectives are increasingly confronting questions around accessibility, harm reduction, security, and sustainability with bold ideas, seeing these questions as essential components of event culture rather than obstacles. For Shakes, the motivation is straightforward, but powerful. “At the end of the day,” he says, “we just want people to feel looked after.”
Ses’fikile’s next event happens May 24 at Botanik Social Club in Cape Town, in collaboration with NINEFOUR. Tickets are available here.
Event photos by Dyce Jones.
