Call to enter youth entrepreneurship awards

In its second year, The Maverick Awards for South African Youth Entrepreneurship Excellence seek to recognise and acknowledge the business success of young, dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs in South Africa. The award ceremony is designed to showcase potential young, high-impact, high-growth entrepreneurial talent and provide a platform for new role models that will serve to inspire a youth-driven entrepreneurial revolution in the country.

The testimony of the value of these awards on the youth entrepreneurship landscape is its endorsement by The Presidency of The Republic of South Africa, as a legacy project with Deputy Minister in The Presidency Buti Manamela assuming the role of patron of the awards.

Nominations

Nominations and entries for The 2015 Maverick Awards can be submitted until Friday, 1 May 2015.

Young entrepreneurs who operate businesses across all sectors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. To enter the awards competition entrepreneurs need be between the ages of 18 and 34, while for all categories except The Maverick Start-Up of The Year Award and The Maverick Award For Social Enterprise Excellence, their businesses need to have revenues of R3 million and above per annum, while having been in operation for a minimum of three years. Finalists will be announced on Monday, 1 June, 2015, to coincide with the launch of national youth month. Winners will be announced on Thursday, 18 June at the second annual Maverick Awards Gala Dinner to be held in Gauteng.

Prizes in this year's competition amount to R3 million in business development interventions. The combination of prizes is intended to provide support for young entrepreneurs to optimise the successful scale-up of their businesses to contribute towards job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation.

For more information, nominations and entries, go to www.under35mavericks.com/awards