Category: In the media

Seven SA star entrepreneurs recognised at premier competition

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Mining engineer, Samuel and Motlapele Molefi – founders and owners of Modi Mining CC – were named this morning as the overall winners of the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS. Modi Mining provides contract mining services to companies specialising in the South African mining sector.

Speaking at the event that celebrated three full decades of discovering and cultivating the best entrepreneurial talent that South Africa has to offer, spokesperson for the 2018 edition of the competition, Gugu Mjadu, said that the Molefi couple was selected as the overall 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® winners because of the remarkable growth and expansion their business has exhibited, in spite of a harsh economic climate.

“Despite operating within an industry that continues to face significant challenges, Modi Mining has experienced average growth of over 30% per annum since starting operations in 2011, increasing net asset value from below R1 million in 2012 to over R80 million last year. This is truly impressive!” says Mjadu.

Other 2018 category winners are:

  • Beverley Gumbi, the founder and owner of Isivuno Container Business (“Isivuno”) was awarded a special Judges Prize in this year’s competition.  The judges prize was introduced in 2014 and seeks to acknowledge a business that may not yet be at the same level of the other entrepreneurs (in terms of size and turnover), but makes an impression on the judges due to the business’ social impact and future potential and the business owner’s attitude and positive entrepreneurial outlook.

Mjadu says the judges believe that Gumbi has the entrepreneurial attitude and determination required to go far. “Beverley’s energy is just contagious and, while she is a female with no engineering experience or technical training, she is tackling a traditionally male-dominated industry and making a success of it!”

As part of this year’s 30-year celebration of the annual competition, the judges also recognised the illustrious South African entrepreneur and property developer, Dr. Richard Maponya, with a Lifetime Achiever award.  

“Dr Richard Maponya is an entrepreneur par excellence and his family name is synonymous with entrepreneurship in South Africa. He did not only make a success of business in an era when black entrepreneurs faced many obstacles that prevented them from being successful but has built a formidable business empire in the democratic South Africa which should remain for generations to come.

Dr Maponya is a legend and excellent role model for entrepreneurs in South Africa across all genders and races. It is a true honour that he has availed himself to accept our Lifetime Achiever Award.”

The competition provides prizes worth R 2 million, which include cash prizes of R70 000 per category and R200 000 for the overall winner, towards further growing their businesses. Beyond these monetary prizes, Mjadu adds that each winner will also receive valuable mentorship support, networking opportunities and associated marketing and national media exposure to further drive their business’ success. “Past winners have also gone on to win other prominent national and international awards as a result of their success in the competition and form valuable partnerships with fellow winners and finalists.”

Now in its 30th year, this competition and others like it serve a particularly important purpose in South Africa, concludes Mjadu. “Entrepreneurial competitions of this calibre serve a dual purpose – they are a celebration of the hard-working self-starters in the country, and also act to inspire budding entrepreneurs who have the potential to create employment and economic growth at a time where the country is facing numerous challenges in this regard.”

Local advertising gurus claim top entrepreneurial award

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Local advertising gurus, Pepe Marais and Gareth Leck of Joe Public United, were named the Medium Business Entrepreneurs of the Year® at the award ceremony for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS held in Johannesburg this morning.

After having entered the competition in 2017 and making it through to the finalist stage, Marais and Leck remained eager to work on their business and re-enter this year with the hopes of winning a category. Their perseverance paid off as their hard work earned them the 2018 Medium Business category title.

Founded 20 years ago with zero capital, Marais and Leck managed to disrupt the local advertising industry by offering haute-cuisine advertising services for print, TV and radio at takeaway prices with various services displayed on a menu. Since then, the business has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but the entrepreneurs’ dedication to building a better business has seen them build a successful business, which is today ranked highly among the country’s top advertising agencies.

The business’ challenges have included selling the business, expanding into an offshore market, retracting back into the local market, losing half of their client base, buying the business back, and starting again from scratch. They have since rebuilt Joe Public into the largest independent, South African-owned advertising group in the country, offering full services in advertising and communications through five integrated specialist companies.

Marais and Leck’s dedicated approach has seen the agency grow from strength to strength, winning numerous awards for their business and clients – the most recent of which was the coveted Agency of the Year award at the 2018 Loeries Awards.

The team prides themselves on their “purposeful approach” to an industry that is often compared to the likes of used car salesmen. They pride themselves on keeping the bottom line at the bottom – and prioritising the purpose, growth, development and well-being of their people (both staff and clients).  

In light of this, Joe Public started their own non-profit organisation in 2008 called One School at A Time and have recently launched their own SETA-accredited academy, Joe Public School of Growth. “Over the past decade, we have systematically been making inroads with our two partnership schools in Soweto and Diepsloot. We are most proud of Forte High in Dobsonville, Soweto – a struggling high school that has become one of the top three township schools in Gauteng.

“Pepe and Gareth are determined individuals who embody the tenacious attitude typical of successful entrepreneurs. After missing out on the prize last year, they went back and worked on aspects of their business that they identified as needing attention. Their win is evidence of this hard work and passion,” said the competition judges.

For more information on their business, please visit the Joe Public website: joepublic.co.za.

Local container conversion company recognised by special entrepreneurial prize

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Beverley Gumbi, the founder and owner of Isivuno Container Business (“Isivuno”) – a container conversion, rental and supply company, based in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal – has been awarded the Judges’ Prize at the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg this morning.

The Judges’ Prize is an additional award that was introduced to the 30-year-old competition in 2014 to recognise businesses that may not yet be at the same level – in terms of size and turnover – of the competition winners, but make a special impression on the judges due to their business’s social impact and future prospects and the entrepreneur’s attitude and positive entrepreneurial outlook.

“Beverley’s energy is just contagious and, while she is a female with no engineering experience or technical training, she is tackling a traditionally male-dominated industry and making a success of it!” said this year’s competition judges.

Established in 2005 to offer a creative solution to the dire shortage of infrastructure and service delivery in both urban and rural communities in South Africa, Isivuno’s refurbished containers can be erected within a short space of time, are mobile and very versatile.

With a mission to serve both the private and public sectors’ needs, Gumbi says she is driven by the prospect of bettering the community, country, and ultimately even the continent. “I want to contribute to local economic growth and socially sustainable development through the manufacture, design and supply of ‘fit for a purpose’ converted shipping containers and park homes for communities and SMMEs at extremely competitive rates.

“Having focussed mainly on the conversion of ordinary shipping containers into business and dwelling units, we are well on our way to becoming the local enterprise development partner of choice. However, our sights are set higher than this, and we hope to one day penetrate other African markets by forming strategic partnerships with formidable companies across the continent.”

The business has already shown tremendous growth from its early days where the majority of the equipment was rented, to now where it owns all of its equipment and tools. When asked what she is most proud of, Gumbi says that her greatest pride comes from seeing the innovative solutions that Isivuno has been responsible for creating over time.

“In addressing the various challenges that our clients present us with, we have created a number of truly innovative products. These include a waterless ablution facility to address ablution challenges in rural and underdeveloped areas, the popular waterborne or waterless shower/toilet combo, and doctor’s consulting rooms to encourage people to get tested and know their HIV status.

“We have even converted a shipping container into a cinema before – the possibilities are truly endless,” she adds.

It is this innovative nature and contagious sense of determination that has made Beverley a deserving winner at this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year® competition. For more information on her business, please visit the Isivuno Container Business website: isivunocontainers.co.za.

Entrepreneurial digital duo named Innovator of the Year®

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Muhammad Simjee and Sofiah Docrat, the husband and wife team behind digital consulting and implementation company, A2D24, have received the Innovator of the Year® award at the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony, which was held this morning in Johannesburg.

Founded in 2015, A2D24 provides businesses with cost-effective, innovative technology solutions that can be rapidly developed and rolled out across their operations. Some of their most notable achievements to date include an innovative app for Emergency Medical Services in Gauteng targeting to reduce the time it takes to dispatch ambulances to patients, a predictive model for a mobile phone network service provider in Cameroon, and a mobile application to assist in malaria prevention in Mozambique.

Over the last three years, A2D24 has grown from a one-man operation to a company that employs 18 people. The driving philosophy behind the business has been to use digital technology to enhance or replace inefficient manual processes.

Mohammad, who has a background in engineering, began building the tech start-up after developing a dashboard to monitor hospital bed availability, which the company would go on to successfully implement at nine hospitals in Gauteng to assist hospital staff in optimising bed availability. Sofia, on the other hand, was able to provide the majority of the funding for the business, and has taken on the role of chief financial officer (CFO) and human resources manager.

While the company was started solely on public sector contracts, Mohammad and Sofiah have actively been working towards attaining an equal balance of public and private sector clients. Currently around 70% of the work completed by A2D24 is for public sector clients, while the remaining 30% is for private sector contracts.

A2D24 also recently launched a globally unique point of sale system which allows retailers to track customers in stores in real time using mobile phone data. The system collects and converts data into actionable events for the relevant users. It also keeps track of poor performance, alerts on possible fraud, identifies opportunities for promotions, and provides in-depth information to retail managers.

In keeping with A2D24’s drive to develop solutions as rapidly as possible, this system, and its accompanying hardware, was designed and completed within the span of just three months.

According to the judging panel, A2D24 is a truly exciting business to follow. “Whether it is for a government hospital, or a private sector company, it is clear that the A2D24 team is able to enhance any operation that they are involved in. That is the spirit of an innovator,” the panel commented.

A2D24 has won several awards since its inception, including SITA’s Govtech SMME of the year in 2016 and the Gauteng Premier’s Service Excellence award in 2017. Having evolved A2D24 from a small start-up into an internationally competitive South African tech company by identifying challenges and offering simple, cost-effective solutions, is what makes the team of Mohammed and Sofia truly worthy of the title, Innovator of the Year®.

For more information on their business, please visit the A2D24 website: www.a2d24.com.

Husband and wife team wins top entrepreneurial accolade

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South Africa’s premier annual entrepreneurial platform, Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, has named mining engineer, Samuel Molefi, and his entrepreneurial wife and business partner, Motlapele Molefi, as this year’s overall competition winners at the awards ceremony held in Johannesburg this morning.

Samuel and Motlapele are the founders and owners of Modi Mining CC, a successful mining services and supplier company that provides clients with contract mining; sweepings and vamping; underground construction; rail installations; services pipes installations; power cable suspension; box front installations among others.

Built on the integration of the Molefis’ extensive experience in the mining and explosives sector, the business comprises of well-proven machines and highly motivated staff who are target driven and have an understanding of the business’ vision and mission.

The judges were particularly impressed by the business’ ability to achieve an average growth rate of over 30% per annum since starting operations in 2011, despite operating within an industry that continues to face high levels of volatility. When asked how they’ve been able to achieve this high level of growth during such challenging times, Samuel says it comes down to understanding the industry and clients.

“We’ve managed to achieve this level of expansion through our unwavering commitment to meet our clients’ ever-changing needs. We’re able to do this because we are continually improving based on feedback from clients, and keep a close eye on how the sector is evolving to ensure we are always providing what our clients require to remain sustainable.”

The company’s support for local economic development and the country’s transformation imperative is showcased through their creation of employment opportunities and affiliated projects. “Sourcing most of our labour from the local communities that we serve in, we now support a total of 420 permanent employees. Additionally, we can safely say we have contributed towards the creation of over 10 000 jobs by businesses within the Black Umbrellas incubator – a non-profit enterprise development incubation organisation that we support.” 

On being named this year’s Entrepreneurs of the Year®, Samuel and Motlapele say that they are honoured and feel motivated to continue their entrepreneurial journey. “Being awarded the highly-esteemed title of Entrepreneur of the Year® confirms that we are on track to realising our overall business objective, which is to be the supplier of choice to the mining industry,” says Samuel.

For more information on their business, please visit the Modi Mining website: www.modimining.co.za.

Father and son receive Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year® award

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Father and son team, Kerry and Craig Motherwell, have received the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year® award at the awards ceremony for the annual 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, held in Johannesburg this morning.

Kerry and Craig are the owners of Foxolution SE, which designs and builds on-site oxygen generators for various industries, utilising their own purpose-built technology to supply hospitals and clinics. The generators, which extract oxygen from the surrounding air, are utilised for a number of industrial applications, including gold recovery, waste water treatment, water purification and odour control.

While Foxolution is currently the only manufacturer of oxygen generators in South Africa, the company has sold the majority of its units on the rest of the African continent, which helps to bring revenue into the country. The company has installed units in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, among other countries. 

Launched in 2003, Foxolution has also prevailed against its share of potentially crippling challenges. Most notably, Foxolution has rebounded from being bankrupted by one of its clients, and successfully weathered the 2008 global financial crisis.

Kerry and Craig have also committed themselves to ensuring that Foxolution’s employees receive the best possible opportunities to grow their skills. Having been accredited by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA), Foxolution offers in-house training for aspirant technicians, artisans, and engineers. The company also provides financial support for long-standing employees who wish to study further in line with its core engineering activities.

The Entrepreneur of the Year® panel of judges commended the Foxolution team’s tenacity and entrepreneurial drive. “We are extremely impressed by Kerry and Craig’s commitment to understanding every aspect of their industry, as well as their results when it comes to bringing revenue into South Africa. Like many businesses, Foxolution has also experienced situations that threatened to close their doors, and the fact that they could continue to build their business through rough times is a testament to their entrepreneurial spirit,” commented the judges.

On being selected as a winner in the national competition, the father-son duo say this is only the beginning for Foxolution. “This award confirms that we are on the right track with our business, but it also serves to motivate us to keep moving forward in terms of growth and expansion,” they conclude.

For more information on their business, please visit the Foxolution website: foxolution.co.za. 

Helping entrepreneurs is a winning business

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Louw Barnardt of Outsourced CFO named Emerging Business Entrepreneur of the Year®

Local entrepreneur, Louw Barnardt, owner of Outsourced CFO, received the 2018 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year® award at the annual Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg this morning.

The financial management company that renders technical and visionary CFO services to emerging tech and innovation businesses, is the vision of chartered accountant, Louw Barnardt.  

Barnardt says that the business idea came about when he noticed a gap in the South African market for high-level, yet accessible financial consulting. He says that many businesses, especially those in the start-up and scale-up phase, require the time and skills of a qualified CA or CFO, but don’t have the resources or capacity to take one on full-time. Outsourced CFO helps small-to-medium business owners rethink, automate and scale their businesses in the pursuit of business eminence.

In line with the global trend of organisations moving away from traditional business models to take on more flexible structures, Outsourced CFO allows start-up businesses to focus internal resources on the activities which provide a unique competitive advantage, while opting to outsource non-core, yet critical functions such as financial management.

In just under five years, Barnardt has capitalised on this trend and has emerged in Cape Town’s market and beyond, as a trusted CFO service provider and thought leader. Since inception, the business has achieved an 87% growth rate year-on-year adding seven new staff members in the past year alone and there are no plans to slow down.

Outsourced CFO provides a range of financial management services, an offering which Barnardt says is constantly evolving. These services include CFO, cloud accounting and fundraising services. “Our team is always on the look-out for the best tech, the best resources, and the most efficient ways to execute on tasks and deliver value. Our differentiating factors are the entrepreneurial professionals we employ, the top-end technology we leverage and the high quality and innovative service we provide to consistently exceed client expectations.”

Barnardt, who wanted to be an entrepreneur since the tender age of six, says that while his business has received numerous accolades over the past four years, it is the growth of the businesses they help that is a true reflection of their own success.
The competition judges agree: “Outsourced CFO has helped their entrepreneur clients raise over R400 million in seed and growth finance. This is exceptional work, especially taking into account the South African landscape which is desperate for growth in this all important sector of the economy.  

“We were very impressed with Louw’s energy, drive and passion for his business – the hard work he has put into not only growing his own business, but other entrepreneurial businesses through their hands-on work in helping entrepreneurs run the financial side of their businesses,” said the judges of this year’s competition.

“I am honoured to receive this award and be ranked among the top entrepreneurs in South Africa, all of whom are doing incredible work in their respective industries,” says Barnardt.

For more information on Outsourced CFO, please visit the website: www.outsourcedcfo.co.za.

Momtrepreneur named Job Creator of the Year®

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For her dedication in putting skilled moms back into the South African labour force, Phillipa Geard of Recruitmymom.co.za has been named Job Creator of the Year® at the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg this morning.

Geard’s online recruitment agency, RecruitMyMom.co.za, recognises that South African moms comprise a valuable portion of the country’s skilled labour force, and therefore caters to a unique gap in the market – providing moms all over the country with the opportunity to juggle both parenthood and a successful career.

From personal experience, Geard realised that there are plenty of moms who have given up successful corporate careers to dedicate more time to their children and families. This, however, was causing the South African economy to experience a “leaky pipeline” of female talent – where the labour force, over time, sees a haemorrhage of valuable, skilled women who choose families over careers.

When seeking flexible employment, Geard explains that traditional recruitment agencies often don’t take these women seriously because the recruitment service tends to be focused on revenue generation, and more money can be made through full-time placements than part-time or reduced-hour placements.

RecruitMyMom.co.za was launched in 2012 to uniquely and successfully meet a specific need amongst professional, skilled women or men wanting to return to work in a flexible capacity. The online recruitment agency offers a personalised service for permanent, temporary and contract positions. The team assists employers by shortlisting and providing them with the best applicants for the advertised position. Employers are simply required to offer some kind of flexibility within the required position.

Since launching five years ago, the agency has grown from a one-woman show to a team of eight full-time staff and has acquired nearly 50 000 skilled moms and thousands of registered employers to their database – which includes over 150 skills, ranging from accountants, actuaries, lawyers, risk managers, analysts, managing directors, marketers, to people with digital, human resources and office support skills and many more.

“Phillipa’s dedication to job creation and her success in changing the way employers regard flexibility in the workplace, is exactly what we need in the current South African economy – she is also driving a change in the public perception of the ‘working mom’ and is worthy of being named the 2018 Job Creator of the Year®,” said this year’s competition judges.

For more information on Recruit My Mom, visit their website on www.recruitmymom.co.za.

Finalists announced for premier entrepreneurial competition’s 30th edition

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Celebrating three full decades of discovering and cultivating the best entrepreneurial talent that South Africa has to offer, the highly esteemed Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS has announced the shortlist of 15 standout entrants who have made it through to the final round of this year’s competition.

According to Gugu Mjadu, spokesperson for the 2018 edition of the competition, the 189 entries that were received this year really upped the game in terms of entrepreneurial talent. “Every year, we think that we’ve seen it all, but each year we find ourselves being further blown away by the level of talent being exhibited by the South African entrepreneurs who enter the competition.”

In alphabetical order, the finalists for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS are:

Andrew and Glenn Eriksen – Cango Wildlife Ranch; Beverley Gumbi – Isivuno Containers Business; Chike and Damaris  Igwegbe – Green City Solutions, t/a Mustbuy; Christina Ester Geldart – Marven Studios; Esi-Gifty Agbohla – Eli-Bionatural International;  James Barrington-Bronwn – NewSpace Systems; Kerry and Craig Motherwell – Foxolution SE CC; Leboneng Mathebula – Gridbow Engineers; Louw Barnardt and Dana Pretorius – Outsourced CFO; Muhammed Simjee and Sofiah Docrat – A2D24 Dot Com; Pepe Marais and Gareth Leck – Joe Public; Phillipa Geard – Recruit My Mom; Praveshen Naidoo – e-Waste Africa; Terence Naidu – EnvisionIt Stock and Tshegofatso Samuel and Motlapele Molefi – Modi Mining.

These 15 finalists operate in various sectors of the economy and are based across the country, says Mjadu. “While the majority of these finalists originate from Gauteng (47%) and the Western Cape (33%), we received entries from all provinces and KwaZulu-Natal (13%) and the North West (7%) are both also represented in the finalist list this year.”

With a wide variety of industries being represented, from mining and engineering to recycling and advertising, there is one thing that Mjadu says all 15 finalists share in common – their invaluable contribution to the South African economy. “The SME sector continues to play a vital role in the South African economy, so these trail-blazing self-starters need to be celebrated for what they are – job creators and economic change-makers,” Mjadu adds.

She explains that the next step in the independent judging process is the selection of the overall 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® winner, as well as winners for each of the five categories, namely emerging, small business, medium business, job creator and innovator. “By running the evaluation process through three different filtering stages, we are able to ensure that every finalist is put under the microscope to avoid any human error or bias from tainting the results.”

The 2018 finalists stand the chance to win prizes worth R2 million, which include cash prizes of R70 000 per category and R200 000 for the overall winner. “Beyond monetary prices, previous finalists have benefitted greatly from the various networking opportunities and associated media exposure that the competition offers. Past winners have also gone on to win international awards and form valuable partnerships as a result of their success in the competition.”

With competition winners being announced on 5 September 2018 at the official awards breakfast in Johannesburg, Mjadu says that the judges have got their work cut out for them this year. “The calibre of entrants this year looks to be extremely high so deciding on winners will be no easy feat. We wish all finalists the best of luck – you’re all already winners in our eyes,” concludes Mjadu.

SA’s premier entrepreneurial competition marks 30 years of celebrating entrepreneurial excellence in Durban

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Amid the current political optimism, entrepreneurs should be especially inspired by the continued commitment to SME support which emerged as a consistent theme in both the 2018 State of the Nation Address and the National Budget Speech. This is according to Kobus Engelbrecht, spokesperson for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, who believes that this continued focus evidences Government’s recognition of the vital role played by entrepreneurs in enabling economic growth.

Speaking in light of the launch of the 2018 competition in Cape Town today, Engelbrecht says that this long-deserved recognition of the SME sector only further validates the competition’s unwavering commitment to celebrating excellence in entrepreneurship and fostering future economic growth.

“Now in our 30th year, this renowned competition continues to pay homage to the fearless South African entrepreneurs who dedicate themselves to their enterprises and businesses: driving growth, combatting unemployment and contributing towards the country’s economic development. It is therefore wonderful to see the public sector taking the required steps to improving the environment in which these entrepreneurs operate in order to promote further growth in the sector.”

Christo Botes, executive director at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS) has been involved in the competition since its inception in 1988, “Looking back over the last 30 years, this competition has evolved from an internal competition that recognized BUSINESS/PARTNERS’ clients only, to a nation-wide search for outstanding South African-based entrepreneurs, with Sanlam as our valued partner.”

He says that the competition continues to reward successful local business owners for the valuable contributions they make to grow their local communities and economies, and aims to inspire others to do the same. “As our 30th- anniversary year, we’re hoping to see even more entrepreneurs enter. The competition is open to all South African-based businesses and prizes are awarded for the following categories: Overall Entrepreneur of the Year®, Emerging Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Job Creator of the Year and Innovator of the Year,” says Botes.

Engelbrecht adds that this year, the 2018 competition will also recognize a South African entrepreneur for a Lifetime Achievement award. “The purpose of this specially nominated award is to recognize an entrepreneur who has made a significant contribution to the South Africa economy and has grown their business from start-up to large-scale, perhaps even multi-national corporation. We want to reward the individuals who have dedicated their lives to building our economy and inspiring others to do the same.”

The 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, offers prizes valued at over R 2 million, which includes cash prizes of R 70 000 for each main category winner, and R200 000 for the overall winner. Competition winners will also receive valuable mentorship support, networking opportunities and national media exposure.

Engelbrecht says that in celebrating 30 years of searching for entrepreneurial talent in all sectors of the economy, the competition remains fiercely committed to its cause in 2018. “The judges are looking for entrepreneurs that have succeeded against the odds, either by carving out a niche market for their product or service offering, or by succeeding in a very competitive environment. Perseverance and endurance, innovation and agility are some of the qualities we look for in the entrepreneur.”

Engelbrecht adds that there are also a number of quantitative competition measures, such as turnover growth, profitability, owners’ equity growth, positive cash flows and job creation that play a part in the competition’s judging process.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to enter the competition and can do so by downloading the entry form online at www.eoy.co.za. They can also interact with fellow entrepreneurs, past winners and entrants on the competition’s social media platforms www.twitter.com/@EOY_SA and www.facebook.com/EOY.SA. The closing date for the competition is 31 May 2018.