New entrepreneurs' competition

This year's competition title-sponsor is Accenture, a global consulting, technology and outsourcing services company and one of the founding partners of Enablis. Other competition sponsors include Microsoft, First National Bank, Dial-a-Nerd, Raizcorp, Business Report, CyberCharge, Smartedge and Rectron.

Winners will receive market exposure, a share of prizes totalling R2 million and business coaching provided by experts from Enablis and its partners. This support is expected to help alleviate the high failure rate among newly established small businesses.

Since it began its programme in South Africa in 2006, participating entrepreneurs have created an estimated 13 000 jobs. In 2009, despite the recession, Enablis entrepreneurs reported an astonishing average of 10.2 jobs per entrepreneur.

"Vibrant economies thrive on sustainable small businesses and entrepreneurs with the right mindset and the discipline to compete successfully in the global marketplace," says William Mzimba, CE of Accenture South Africa. "The company's support for the initiative will infuse the high performance culture among budding entrepreneurs and help nurture them into solid creators of wealth."

Workshops aid entrants

Qualifying entrepreneurs will have existing businesses in the following markets; food and beverage, services, green business, arts and craft, health and vitality, ICT, fashion and beauty, hospitality and tourism, agri-business and innovation. The competition has an additional sector for applicants who wish to present new business ideas to gain funding and mentorship to start viable businesses.

In support of the competition, various workshops hosted by sponsors will be presented in Cape Town, Gauteng and Durban, during October. These workshops will aim to empower applicants with the necessary knowledge and skills to better understand the structured development of their business plans and the competition process.

"Enablis believes entrepreneurs are the foundation for successful small- to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and our judges will be focused on finding the best South Africa has to offer and integrating them into our international network," adds Victor Mzimela, country manager of Enablis SA.