Ilembe Chamber crowns new Entrepreneur of the year

Despite his tough, poverty-stricken upbringing, his unwavering determination to succeed was the main ingredient in Phumlani Xulu’s winning recipe which earned him the title of The Entrepreneur 2018.

The 20 finalists in the eighth edition of the Ilembe Chamber of Commerce’s competition proudly exhibited their businesses followed by the highly anticipated prize giving at SMD Ballito last week.

The 26-year-old Xulu took home first prize with his business GospArch Project Solutions earning him R30 000 in business development funding and R45 000 in advertising in The North Coast Courier.

“Growing up in a mud house, raised by an unemployed single parent and having to travel eight kilometres daily from home to school to now being here is unbelievable. I am so grateful that I was able to push through those circumstances and turn my family-given talent into a career,” said the humble Xulu who studied architectural technology.

“The program taught me that we should not give up and our time of shining will always come, although I did not expect it so soon. One thing I know is that many people are currently going through what I today can call my past, and my story will be a great motivation for them.”

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Fellow finalist Deveshni Kullen from DVS Business Solutions said they loved every minute of the programme and are sad to see it end.

“The Entrepreneur has given us the platform to focus on our business and figure out where we want to go while giving our businesses exposure and credibility. We will miss the training sessions on Saturdays which were so useful as they were practical and taught by real entrepreneurs,” said Kullen.

“A big lesson for most of us I think is that it is easy to get lost in the love for what we do. We have learnt how to make our businesses profitable, sustainable and scale-able and to move to new heights.”

Entrepreneurs are the future

Chief judge Yoliswa Gumede said she was incredibly impressed by the calibre, size and profile of the programme this year.

“The competition was really stiff and it was important for us to choose winners who played by the rules and stood out not only as businesses, but also as individuals. We back the jockey more than the horse,” said Gumede, who is the co-owner of Cappeny Estates and chaired the 2018 adjudication panel consisting of: SMG Ballito’s Paul Naidoo, Seeff North Coast’s Tim Johnson, Nedbank regional manager business banking Janet van Blerk and STIR Social’s Kirsty Bisset who was a FairLady Woman of the future finalist in 2018.

Joint second placed winners were Lucky Mahanuga from Act And Justice Security and Osborne Ozzy Gwamanda from Thumamina Mobile Car Wash who are each getting R22 500 for business funding and R20 000 in media coverage, while third prize went to Welile Weli Gumede from Azowel Projects who won R15 000 in funding and R8 000 in media coverage.

Also read: From battlefields to bodyguard – Meet Ballito’s Mr Monk, the mercenary

The prizes are not cash prizes, but rather business development funding used in support of their business plan as approved by Chamber accredited mentors.

The winners also won Chamber membership for two membership years.

All media coverage is sponsored by The North Coast Courier.

Chamber CEO Cobus Oelofse said it was exciting to see a winner from each one of the local municipalities.

“The willingness of young professionals to return to their roots and stimulate our rural economies and create jobs where it is most needed is a good sign for the future,” said Oelofse.

“From the trend over the last few competitions, it is obvious that the construction sector presents a significant opportunity for young professionals. It was also hugely encouraging to see some innovative manufacturing opportunities with significant potential, not only nationally, but even globally. These small gems need to be nurtured and supported – and most importantly more of them need to be identified in our district.”

He also thanked the Chamber’s partners in The Entrepreneur 2018 programme namely Enterprise Ilembe, King Shaka International Airport, the North Coast Courier, Sembcorp Siza Water and ENGIE Peakers Operations. Nedbank was also a business development and business support partner in the 2018 edition of the competition.

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