Third season of Rize Mzansi attracts Creative Counsel as investors

As young, ambitious and successful executives, they have a passion for fostering and developing entrepreneurial talent.

Ran Neu-Ner

Big winnings

The show, which began early November 2013, will pit 52 business-savvy innovators and entrepreneurs in a head-to-head battle, which will be televised over 13 weeks. Each episode pits 2 entrepreneurs against each other to get financial assistance from the investors. The winners will be awarded venture capital to enhance and evolve their businesses.

"In its recent labour force survey, Statistics SA says 24.7% of South Africans are without a job, while the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2012 pegs the youth unemployment rate in the country at 48%. This presents a massive challenge for both the government and its stakeholders to create jobs to curb this crisis," says Oved.

"We believe entrepreneurship remains one of the solutions to solving the scarcity of jobs. Having travelled the bumpy road to self-employment has equipped us with some useful tips and tools, which we hope to share with other entrepreneurs, in order to help them 'fish' for themselves," adds Neu-Ner.

Gil Oved

Invest of dismiss

In each episode, two participants pitch their ideas to an investor and an investment advisor. Through the presentation and negotiation process, participants and viewers alike will receive an unpolished insider view into the mind-set needed to develop a business idea and get funding for it or how to expand a fledgling business. The investors' role is to interrogate the contestants' proposals and then decide to invest money or dismiss the business plans if they are not viable.

Each episode also features an investment advisor with business knowledge and experience, whose role is to assist the investor where possible in interrogating the contestants' proposals.