Business achievers take centre stage at awards ceremony

The Ithala Business Achiever Awards recognises clients’ business success and acknowledges their contribution towards developing an entrepreneurial province in KwaZulu-Natal.

Over the past five years, more than 8 000 jobs have been created through lending activities, more than 500 enterprises have been assisted and loans totalling R1.1 billion have been advanced to SMME’s and co-operatives.

In his 2016 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan highlighted that support for small businesses will be key to fostering inclusive growth.

He said R475 million had been reprioritised to the Department of Small Business Development for assistance to small and medium enterprises and co-operatives.

Given the growing inequalities in employment, income and education, Ithala believes SMME’s can be influential in making a profound impact on the country’s economy by creating jobs.

As part of Ithala’s developmental mandate, the agency makes funding available to enterprises that are viable, sustainable and have the potential to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

The Siyasebenza initiative, for example, is a series of developmental outreach programmes to uplift youth, women and SMMEs in townships and rural areas.

The Inkunz’isematholeni Youth in Business programme was launched in 2014 to encourage South Africa’s youth to consider self-employment as a job option. The programme is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and providing skills development among the youth.

“Ithala’s Business Achiever Awards aims to celebrate our clients’ successes by rewarding, showcasing and sharing their accomplishments with other aspirant business owners to inspire them towards growth and success,” said Mano Muthusamy, Ithala Acting Business Finance Executive.

“Our 2015 Business Achiever winner, Sbonelo Mbatha of Divine Inspiration Trading 299 CC, has graced the podium at a number of our enterprise development programmes to share his experiences with audiences throughout the KZN province.

“The exposure of role models that have flourished in their own businesses has been influential in motivating emerging entrepreneurs through mentorship, advice and sharing of information.”

The Business Achiever nominees were evaluated against numerous criteria including entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, community impact, innovation and personal integrity.
Awardees were celebrated across various industry sectors including agriculture, logistics, trade and services and commercial property as well as a special award category for excellence.

The winners each received R50 000 plus an additional R5 000 to contribute towards a charity of their choice.

Bagging the “Agriculture Business of the Year” award was Lucky Khumalo of Mgodeni Farm, a family-owned business in Danhausser, Newcastle which farms over 1 000 hectares of maize.

Ntobethuthu Trading was declared “Trade and Service Business of the Year”. Peggy Ndhlovu is the owner of a flourishing BP service station in Umlazi V section.

The “Logistics Business of the Year” award went to Eric Sokhulu of Asphiwamandla Trading Enterprise, a logistics service provider operating in Mtubatuba and Jozini which specialises in sugar cane, coal and timber haulage.

Sastri Ramiah, CEO of Olive Group, which provides an array of services including conferencing and events, accounting services, property and food and beverage scooped the “Commercial Property Business” of the Year award.

The special category award for excellence was presented to husband and wife team, Mike and Thina Maziya, owners of Super Mama plastics and Verigreen which specialises in disposable plastic manufacturing and commercial property.

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Ithala Development Finance Corporation Limited Business Achiever Awards 2016 Finalists