Winners of the annual Entrepreneur of the Year competition announced
ROSEBANK – The overall winner was Andrew Weinberg of Retail Engage. He walked away with R200 000 to grow his business and a number of other prizes.
Managing director of Retail Engage, Andrew Weinberg walked away with the coveted title of Entrepreneur of the Year at a glamorous ceremony at Hyatt Regency in Rosebank on 4 September.
Spokesperson for the competition, sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners, Gugu Mjadu said Weinberg stood out in terms of his entrepreneurial spirit and the scalability of his business.
Mjadu said, “Given the high calibre of this year’s finalists, choosing one overall winner required lengthy deliberation among our esteemed judging panel. However, there was no denying that Weinberg’s customer engagement and incentives solutions business, Retail Engage, was a notch above the rest because of its innovative approach to providing retailers with insight into purchasing behaviour.”
The Entrepreneur of the Year competition aims to honour, benefit and uplift South African business owners in the SME space. In its 31st year, the competition celebrates excellence in entrepreneurship, serving as an inspiration to others to succeed in the world of business.
The gruelling judging process assessed 15 finalists to crown one winner and five category winners.
Founder and owner of Midrand-based footwear business Bathu Swag, Theo Baloyi, won the award for Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
Founder and owner of Carmen Stevens Wines, Carmen Stevens won the award for Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year. Her independent, black-owned, award-winning small-batch winery stood out above the rest. Ninety-five per cent of the wines are exported under the Catoria label and marketed through online retailer Naked Wines.
The award for Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year was given to Uzair Essack, founder and owner of Cape Town-based fruit and vegetable export company Cape Crops. Essack has turned the traditional fruit and vegetable sales model around by taking a tech-savvy approach and using innovative marketing strategies.
The award for Innovator of the Year was given to Wynand Geldenhuys of information technology consultancy Vectra.
Sponsors Sanlam and Business/Partners provided prizes worth R2 million. Each of the five category winners received R70 000 and the overall winner received R200 000 to use for growing his business.
Mjadu added that each of this year’s winners will also receive technical assistance and mentorship support, networking opportunities and associated marketing and national media exposure in order to further their business success.
“Based on feedback from our past winners, this support and exposure has proven to be just as valuable as any capital injection,” said Mjadu.
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