announced the top three winners in its youth entrepreneurship programme, SAB
KickStart Boost 2016. The announcement took place at an official awards
ceremony which was held recently during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016.
Vanqa, 33, owner of quantity surveying company, Inga Vanqa Quantity Surveying
and Project Management, based in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. The business
offers Construction Project management and Green Building Consulting. Since
participating in the SAB KickStart Boost programme, the business has increased
capacity and is able to procure more clients and sizable contract work.
Management of employees and client relations have been improved and better
internal systems have streamlined processes. Inga notes that he has matured as
a leader during SAB KickStart Boost and can better communicate and negotiate.
He is now more focused than before on the growth of his business and is aware
of its financial performance, planning ahead. Inga received a R500, 000 grant
for further investment into his business.
Pic Courtesy: SABKickStart FB Page |
Pravashen Naidoo, 33, owner of e-Waste Africa, which specialises in the
sustainable and environmentally-friendly disposal of lamps and bulbs, based in
Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Pravashen notes that the structure of his
business’ sales team and growth model was strongly influenced by the training
and mentoring received during his participation in SAB KickStart Boost. A
R1-million loan from SAB KickStart Boost enabled the purchase of equipment for
the business and to expand its footprint across the province of Gauteng.
Pravashen receives R400, 000 for further investment into his business.
Radebe, 29, owner of Eyam Projects, offering project management of exhibition
stands and shop fittings, based in Roodepoort, Gauteng. Since her participation
in SAB KicKStart the business has a new factory where stock is stored and
distributed from, a function previously outsourced. The financial security of
the business has been improved over the last six months. Thuli receives a
further R300, 000 investment into her business.
investment received in prizes, the top three winners will also benefit from an
additional 6-months business training and mentorship.
Boost entrepreneur finalists created 25 full-time and part-time jobs, all the
while retaining 62 jobs as a collective.
Development Specialist (Youth Business), Simphiwe Mntambo, their increased job
creation potential is supported by their positive transformation over the
duration of the programme. This is reflected in the positive and steady growth
in key business areas such as revenue and assets and an increase in their
client base. A number of the SAB KickStart Boost entrepreneurs managed to
introduce new product lines and open new sites during the year with the support
of the programme.
by the way in which the finalists have managed to operationalise their growth
plans, anchored in healthy sales pipelines and strategic management as a means
of maintaining a healthy business. This will ensure that good advisory
structures are available to finalists to help them grow further and to remain
on the right track,” shares Mntambo.
KickStart Boost finalists has focused on providing them with the tools to
access new and larger clients; imperative for the survival and growth of all
SMEs. This included opportunities to interact with buyers, as well as learning
how to solve business challenges, to better prepare them to work as suppliers
to big corporates.
to build on the support structures provided to local SMEs, by delivering
innovative mechanisms that present them with real growth opportunities. This
commitment is anchored in our support of the annual Global Entrepreneurship
Week 2016 and the integral part that we will play in the Global
Entrepreneurship Congress taking place in South Africa in March 2017,” says
Mntambo.
businesses all represent some of South Africa’s core industries and sectors,
including, Agriculture and Food Processing, Renewable Energy, as well as Mining
and Minerals.
Glass
the beginning of the year, were provided with a combination of business support
including business skills training, business development support, mentorship
and grant capital, as well as low interest seed capital loans.
attracting adequate capital into their enterprises and the skills to utilise
this capital well. The aim, through SAB KickStart Boost, is to provide them
with the support and the environment they need to turn their ambitions into
reality and to create sustainable entities that make a tangible contribution to
economic development,” Mntambo explains.