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Cape Town - Gauteng is on course to showcase why it is the economic heartbeat of South Africa when it celebrates township entrepreneurs from around the province.
The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) will shine the spotlight on township business owners at the inaugural Township Entrepreneur Awards on 12 March 2016 at The University of Johannesburg's Soweto Campus.
The awards, which is a first of its kind in South Africa, are endorsed by the Black Business Council and NAFCOC. It aims to recognise and celebrate inspirational businesses coming from the province’s disadvantaged areas from Meadowlands to Mamelodi.
“In Gauteng, the plight of youth unemployment has hit our young even harder than the rest of the country,” said Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Lebogang Maile.
She quoted recent data from Statistic South Africa which found that the employment share of youth declined by the largest amount in Gauteng, down 6.2 percentage points.
“It is against this backdrop that the GDED recognises entrepreneurship as one of the enablers for the Gauteng City Region to make considerable inroads tackling unemployment. Recognising entrepreneurship through the Township Entrepreneur Awards cannot be overemphasised,” explained Maile.
Over 250 entries were received, screened and adjudicated; resulting in mainly four finalists in each of the 11 categories.
Selection criteria included innovation and creativity, financial management and performance, social and community impact, sustainability and economic opportunities, as well as management systems and processes.
- All nominees receive R100 000 cash for their business (R50 000 will be used to fix business needs stipulated by the business assessors, the other R50 000 will be an unconditional cash injection)
- Category winners to be given an additional R200 000 cash for their business (R150 000 will be used to fix business needs stipulated by the business assessors, the other R50 000 will be an unconditional cash injection)
- Woman entrepreneur category winner will have an additional R60 000 for the Gordon Institute of Business Science Scholarship.
All nominees will be afforded the following services from the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller:
- Business assessment done to identify the needs for the business
- Businesses will have access to an advisory panel for a period of 5 years that will provide mentorship and coaching for all end to end business services requirements
- Businesses will be provided with business development support
- All nominees will be given a University of Johannesburg scholarship for a 6 month entrepreneurship training course
All businesses will be subject to monitoring and evaluation after the implementation of the recommendations from the assessment.
Here are the finalists:
Youth Entrepreneur
Phindile Mokoena
Company: Mmena-Kwena Construction and Projects
Township: Tsakane
Sabelo Mhlomi
Company: Mohlakeng Medical Centre
Township: Mohlakeng
Kgomotso Pooe
Company: Soweto Outdoor Adventures
Township: Pimville
Nambitha Nutritional Products
Company: Nambitha Nutritional Products
Township: Orange Farm
Services
Harriet Matjila and Anna Hartebeest
Company: Makhabisi Recycling and Trading
Township: Reiger Park
Lawrence Mpinga
Company: Siyafunda Adult Education and Training
Township: Orange Farm
Sabelo Mhlomi
Company: Mohlakeng Medical Centre
Township: Mohlakeng
Woman Entrepreneur
Phindile Mokoena
Company: Mmena-Kwena Construction and Projects
Township: Tsakane
Sheila Sekhitla
Company: The View Guesthouse
Township: Tembisa
Harriet Matjila and Anna Hartebeest
Company: Makhabisi Recycling and Trading
Township: Reiger Park
Tourism and Creative Industries
Glad Mabele
Company: Bala Books Creations
Township: Meadowlands
Sheila Sekhitla
Company: The View Guesthouse
Township: Tembisa
Bongani Khumalo
Company: Flexi Tours and Logistics
Township: Dobsonville Gardens
Kgomotso Pooe
Company: Soweto Outdoor Adventures
Township: Pimville
