Entrepreneur competition offers prizes of more than R2m

Cape Town - The 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business Partners Limited offers prizes valued at over R2m, including cash prizes of R70 000 for each main category winner, and R200 000 for the overall winner.

Competition winners will also receive mentorship support, networking opportunities and national media exposure.

The competition is open to all South African-based businesses and prizes are awarded in 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.

This year the 2018 competition will also recognise a South African entrepreneur for a Lifetime Achievement award.

Kobus Engelbrecht, spokesperson for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year competition says, amid the current political optimism, entrepreneurs should be especially inspired by the continued commitment to SME support mentioned in both the 2018 State of the Nation Address and Budget 2018.

Christo Botes, executive director at Business Partners Limited has been involved in the competition since its inception in 1988. He says 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.

Engelbrecht says the judges are looking for entrepreneurs who 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 they look for in the entrepreneur.

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 can download the entry form online at www.eoy.co.za. The closing date for the competition is 31 May 2018.

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