Entrepreneur competition launched

Long standing partners Airports Company SA KSIA, Enterprise iLembe and The North Coast Courier, mentors and previous entrepreneur competition candidates celebrated the aviation themed launch of the Ilembe Chamber’s seventh annual competition last Thursday and welcomed a new sponsor on board: Semcorp Siza Water.

Ilembe Chamber CEO, Cobus Oelofse said the entrepreneur programme aims to stimulate and support small businesses in the Ilembe region and they welcome Sembcorp Siza Water as a partner in promoting this worthy goal.

“Thanks to the support of its academic and professional partners, the competition has established itself at the forefront of entrepreneurial development in KZN while establishing the Ilembe District as a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity,” said Oelofse.

The programme is widely endorsed and nationally recognised and has seen 163 finalists participate over the last six years, reporting 54% growth in revenue following their participation in the programme.

“Apart from the business development funding and marketing collateral received by entrepreneurs, the competition provides an opportunity for the finalists to gain critical business skills, receive mentorship and training, and prepare a comprehensive business plan that will allow them to grow and develop their businesses.”

Guest speaker and CEO of the SASME Fund, Quinton Dicks was impressed to hear that these participating businesses have created 153 new jobs in the local economy at an investment of just over R8000 per job created.

“The results achieved by The Entrepreneur competition are remarkable and these kind of initiatives are helping to create a healthy local business ecosystem,” said Dicks, who stressed the importance of existing businesses investing in smaller businesses.

“The Achilles heel of our economy is businesses not investing in entrepreneurs, because they are waiting for better days to come.”

The 2017 Ilembe Chamber’s programme will run over 12 weeks during which competition finalists will be exposed to intensive business modelling, through tuition and practical application, as part of a programme co-designed by the University of KZN and USA-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Competition finalists will also be supported through mentorship by Chamber accredited mentors – “grey-heads” with invaluable business experience.

Ilembe based entrepreneurs and small business owners are invited to enter the competition which will be open for seven weeks with entries closing on June 23.

Interested business owners need to complete an application form that can be downloaded from the Chamber’s website – www.ilembechamber.co.za.

Entry forms are also available at the Ilembe Chamber offices.

Contact Sakhile Khumalo at sakhile@ilembechamber.co.za or at 087 354 6343.

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