Challenge accepted

The province’s flagship entrepreneurship programme, the Ilembe Chamber Entrepreneurs competition, got underway on Saturday, July 9 at the Ilembe Chamber offices.

The 25 participants, hand-picked from 150 entries, represent all corners of the Ilembe district in the sixth running of the competition.

In order to deliver on sponsors’ expectations of viability beyond two years and job creation, mentors will dedicate the next eight Saturday mornings (with mentorship continuing throughout the week) to train and assist each small business represented in the competition.

To keep it fresh, this year sees the introduction of specialists in different areas of business contributing their expertise to the weekly workshops. One of them is business consultant, Anton Ressel who took time out of his Durban vacation to mentor participants on growth in business.

“The purpose of the programme is to see how the Chamber can support you from a non-financial point of view, to achieve the sponsors’ expectations,” Ilembe Chamber CEO, Cobus Oelofse told participants in his opening speech.

A diverse range of small business enterprises are represented in this year’s competition, including farming, steel manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, health and baby care products, medical tourism, a photographer, a laundry service and a guesthouse.

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