Entrepreneur of the Year® Competition 2016 for South African Entrepreneurs.

Application Deadline: June 16th 2016

The Entrepreneur of the Year® Competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS is an annual competition that recognises and honours South African entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector. The competition celebrates excellence in entrepreneurship to inspire others to venture into and succeed in the world of business.

To enter the Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, you need to be based in South Africa and comply with the minimum criteria of the categories outlined below.

Entrepreneurs who enter may be considered for the following categories in the Entrepreneur of the Year® competition:

Emerging Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur who has been in their present business for a maximum of 5 years and with a turnover not exceeding R5 million on the date the entry form is received by the steering committee.

Small Business Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur who runs a business, irrespective of length of time during which it has been active, with a turnover of between R5 million and R20 million in the tax year immediately preceding the date of entering the competition.

Medium Business Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur who runs a business, irrespective of the length of time during which it has been active, with a turnover of more than R20 million in the tax year immediately preceding the date of entering the competition. The controlling owner must be stated.

Job Creator of the Year

An entrepreneur who not only employs a significant number of employees, but also plays a key role in uplifting, up-skilling and training them. They help towards making a dent in the unemployment rate of the community, area, province and country where the business is situated.

Innovator of the Year

An entrepreneur who has:

• Reinvented the way business is done in his/her industry; and/or
• Been innovative in the product or service being offered to the market; and/or
• Found a way of drawing the best qualified and technical people in his/her industry and kept them by creating a special environment where employees can flourish.

Two additional Entrepreneur of the Year® award categories can be awarded at the discretion of the judging panel, namely:

Lifetime Achiever

An established entrepreneur who has made great strides in their business over many years. The steering committee proactively sources finalists for the Lifetime Achiever award category with the judges selecting the final winner.

Judges Prize

A category to acknowledge a business that may not yet be at the same level of the other entrepreneurs (in terms of size and turnover), but makes an impression on the judges due to aspects such as the business’s social impact, the entrepreneur’s attitude and positive entrepreneurial outlook.

Entrepreneur of the Year®

The overall winner is selected out of the emerging, small, or medium categories.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Entrepreneur of the Year® Competition 2016