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No need to be lonely, entrepreneurs told

Cape Town – Entrepreneurs competing to win R1m through Standard Bank’s Think Big series have come across similar themes of loneliness and the importance of networking and mentorship.

Standard Bank’s business banking marketing manager Joanne Donald told News24 Live that the series had opened her eyes to the challenges of entrepreneurs.

In this story:

- VIDEO: Interview with Standard Bank's Joanne Donald
- VIDEO PLAYLIST: Think Big Series
- WEBSITE: A link to BizConnect
- WEBSITE: A link to the Think Big contestants
- TWITTER: All the latest news on Think Big

Think Big is a national search for a businessperson who epitomises the attributes of passion, energy and entrepreneurship: someone who is ready to take an already successful enterprise to another level with a cash business injection of R1m in the company bank account.

During the series, 12 selected entrepreneurs from various business sectors have competed for the honour of being selected as one of six finalists. Selected from a field of hundreds of entrants, the businesses of the 12 entrepreneurs were examined, with two entrepreneurs from a single business sector being compared in each episode.

Building business champions


“Think Big is about building business champions,” said Donald. “Through the process, the businesses have been given various challenges, all ultimately to win R1m. It has been fantastic. The breadth of businesses that we’ve seen has been phenomenal, the detail and the challenges that we’ve given these businesses has been absolutely fascinating.

“We’ve seen a huge amount of growth within these businesses,” she said. “It’s really helped us to get an understanding of how tough it is for a small business owner to succeed and the amount of dedication and passion you need as a business owner.”

Watch:


A brave step

“To be an entrepreneur is an incredibly brave thing,” she said. “It’s such a huge step to take. You have to be a jack of all trades. You have to understand your market so well, which is a huge challenge for small businesses.
 
“Small businesses are going to be the backbone of SA’s economy,” she said. “It’s where all of our jobs are going to come from. It is so critical that we invest properly within that industry.”

Watch Think Big Series:



Meet the contestants:

BizConnect | Think Big

Website:


Visit BizConnect, where people needing support in starting or running a small business can access all the right tools.



- Fin24.

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