Here are 6 winning SA entrepreneurs – and their awesome ideas
The winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year competition, sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners, and which recognises and honours SA entrepreneurs in the SME sector, have been announced.
The competition, which is currently in its 29th year, provides prizes worth R2 million.
Each of the five category winners received R60,000 towards further growing their businesses while the overall winner received R160,000.
The winners were announced at a Johannesburg ceremony, with Willem van der Merwe, owner of Africa Biomass Company, receiving the coveted title of Entrepreneur of the Year.
Spokesperson for the competition, Christo Botes, said that while selecting one entrepreneur to be the overall winner was no easy task – especially given the high standard of the finalists – van der Merwe was a notch above the rest in terms of the raw entrepreneurial nature of his business.
“Through the establishment of Africa Biomass Company (ABC) – which specialises in land clearing, wood chipping, and wood recycling – Willem (van der Merwe) has not only created a successful business by clearing landowners unwanted trees, he has also shaped a new industry in South Africa by introducing the novel concept of wood recycling,” he said.
Entrepreneur of the year: Willem van der Merwe, owner of Africa Biomass Company
Africa Biomass Company has an extensive list of services and products that cater for every wood chipping or land clearing industry.
It offers services to a list of different industries including orchard recycling, windbreak recycling, biofuel and mulch and land clearing.
Industries include but are not limited to, farms or construction companies that wish to clear land by removing and recycling orchards, vineyards and/or bushes enabling them to build dams, replant vineyards or orchards or to construct buildings.
Africa Biomass Company was also contracted by municipalities to remove and recycle alien trees.
Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Sizwe Nzima and Siraaj Adams, owners of Iyeza Health.
Having started as a bicycle delivery company that delivered chronic medication from health clinics in Khayelitisha to patients’ homes in the township, Iyeza Group has evolved into a health logistics company with a wide array of capabilities.
Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year: Itumeleng Phake, founder and owner of Zenzele Fitness Group
Zenzele Fitness Group is a fitness and wellness company that is making health and fitness more accessible to South Africans in middle and lower LSM groups.
Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year: Nomfundo Mcoyi, founder and owner of Icebolethu Group
Established as Icebolethu Funerals in 2009 as a funeral parlour, with a complement of just five staff members, the business has evolved into a prominent funeral services conglomerate with international presence and around 300 employees.
Job Creator of the Year: Siphiwe Ngcobo, owner and founder of iLawu Hospitality Group
Founded in 2009 as a humble five-bedroomed B&B in Pietermaritzburg, iLawu Hospitality Group has since expanded to become one of the well-recognised hospitality and catering brands in KwaZulu-Natal, providing countless jobs to the community.
Innovator of the Year®: Mpodumo Doubada, founder and owner of Pimp My Book
Pimp my Book, an ever-growing chain of campus stores across the country, was founded in 2006 on the simple premise of buying and selling used textbooks and making them significantly more affordable to students.
Read: How much its costs to open a top franchise in SA – and how much you can earn
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