SAB KickStart Awards

Young entrepreneurs still have some time to enter their great business ideas for the annual South African Breweries (SAB) KickStart Awards, and to potentially walk away with their share of R2,6-million worth of grants, mentorship and training.

Participants now have until 18 June 2008 to get their entries to their nearest SAB offices.

Aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, almost 22,700 existing and budding entrepreneurs have already benefited from KickStart and more than 3 200 businesses have been started by KickStart participants.
SAB launched the KickStart programme in 1995 as a poverty alleviation programme, but it has subsequently become a platform to stimulate sustainable enterprise development. Specifically, KickStart promotes business awareness through training, supplying grants as start-up capital and providing post-training mentorship and assistance during the setting up phase of the business.

The results speak for themselves. Sixty-four percent of grant winners from 2001 to 2005 are still in business, with 87% of those who received grants in 2004 and 2005 still operating. No fewer than 83% of SAB KickStarters have reported that their businesses are growing, and the turnover of KickStart businesses has increased by an average of 375%. Almost one third supply goods and services to SAB. Many of these enterprises have grown into multi-million rand organisations employing a significant amount of people.

“KickStart is a wonderful programme in that it not only gives a large number of young entrepreneurs a solid foundation on which to build their businesses, but also provides generous funding and intensive mentorship to the most promising entrants. Both of these elements are essential to businesses that are just starting up,” says Chris Meyiwa, Enterprise Development Manager at SAB Ltd.

“The programme delivers first-class results year after year, and makes a tangible difference to the lives of thousands of people all over South Africa, from the entrepreneurs themselves to the people they employ and the customers they serve - not to mention the families of those who work for the sustainable businesses that are created.”

Young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 who want to enter the SAB KickStart Awards, need to complete an official registration form and send it to their nearest South African Breweries Ltd office.

For more information visit www.sabkickstart.co.za or call:

SAB Cape Region (Eastern and Western Cape):
Nomnotho Madide on 021 658 7511 or

Egoli (includes East and West Rand, Johannesburg central)
Angela Kgasago on 011 571 1000 or

North (includes Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Pretoria)
Brenda Pelo on 012 621 9142 or

East Coast (includes KZN and part of Eastern Cape)
Nqobile Hadebe on 031 910 1386 or

Central (includes Free State, Northern Cape, North West)
Victor Motaung on 086 172 2256 or