Johannesburg - South African Breweries (SAB) celebrated two decades of of supporting young South African entrepreneurs at its SAB KickStart ceremony where they announced the top five youth-owned businesses that each received a share of a R1.5 million business grant.
The winners were announced during a ceremony held in Mombela, Mpumalanga on Thursday evening. The competition was tight as the top five winners were selected from a group of 18 finalists who participated in a year-long business development support programme, said SAB Economic Development Manager, Octavius Phukubye.
The programme started in 1995 and “included a business growth strategy designed for their business, grant funding of between R100 000 and R200 000, and individualised business mentorship”, said Phukubye, adding that the focus was on ensuring sustainable business growth and a meaningful contribution to the country’s economy.
He said: “Our support model is designed to build and strengthen the capabilities of the SMEs so that they become sustainable entities with the ability to achieve one of government’s top priorities - create jobs while at the same time make a worthwhile contribution the country’s economy.”
Phukubye added that SAB is committed to partnering with government’s vision in “creating one-million jobs by 2030 through involvement of big business and the power of entrepreneurship.”
The winners were overall winner Clement Pilusa, owner of Pilusa and Mabotja Farming; second winner Ranjan Sewgambar of Private Practicing Audiologist; third winner Caroline Kgomo of Meqheleng Waste Management; fourth winner Chantelle Smith of Health View Clinic and fifth winner Angelo Maart of EnviroCare.
Pilusa who walked away with a R500 000 grand prize said that the the programmed helped him to differentiate his business from competitors, and mentorship made a huge difference to focusing his attention on his business and enabled him to make better business investment decisions. The prize money boosted the R170 000 seed capital he received earlier this year.
Each winner received a share in the R1.5 million pot, and said Phukubye, would receive an “additional six-month long programme of business development support and mentorship to assist in efficiently employing the grant investment provided.”
Pilusa emphasised the need for all entrepreneurs to recognise that they “need training, commitment, passion, hard work, good marketing skills and financial planning.”
Phukubye said that each finalist and their businesses were “carefully monitored” throughout the year and an independent judging panel selected the winners according to their progress during the competition.
He said Pilusa, a true agri-preneur was “an all-rounder whose progress as an entrepreneur and that of his business impressed the judging panel on every level.” He stated that Pilusa’s business is well positioned for exceptional future growth.
Noting how the awards took place during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) which ends on November 22, Phukubye said to commemorate this week, SAB is “running several initiatives during GEW targeting young entrepreneurs across South Africa and offering business grants of up to R350 000 for eligible participants.”
African News Agency