Local Businesses in Mpumalanga Get Much Needed Support Through the Bambelela Business Awards
Mpumalanga: Glitz and glamour was the order of the day at the inaugural Bambelela Business Awards held at the Tsogo Sun, The Ridge in Emalahleni, on 21 February 2023.
The event hosted by the Hollywood Foundation, through its Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme, was attended by various stakeholders in the business fraternity, including National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), government, public figures and young entrepreneurs.
Source: UGC
The Awards recognised local heroes and heroines who are making a positive impact in various communities through their businesses. The Bambelela Business Awards, through its slogan “Bambelela (Hold On) - Your dreams are valid,” aim to shine a spotlight on some of the great achievements made by entrepreneurs in the province of Mpumalanga.
The event commenced with an SMME exhibition and seminar during the day where local businesses had a chance to showcase their work and also pitch their business ideas with hope of getting funding. Entrepreneurs were upskilled by industry experts during a panel discussion and also had an opportunity to learn more about how to grow their businesses and have access to markets and funding.
The exhibition and seminar culminated into an awards ceremony where a panel of judges chose 20 candidates to be awarded their share of R750 000 of funding from the Hollywood Foundation. Some of the judging criteria included team strength, sector or product, experience, revenue generation and community impact.
Amongst the chosen 20 candidates, 17 received R30 000 each, while the prize winner walked away with R 100 000, the second winner received R70 000, and the third prize winner got a massive R50 000.
Talking about the event, Babongile Mkhize, Group Transformation Manager at Hollywood Foundation said:
“It has been such an honour bringing the first Bambelela Business Awards to Mpumalanga! What a heart-warming feeling it has been to witness many SMMEs in the region, and the products and services that they offer to the community. We applaud the winners, and we hope that our contribution as the Hollywood Foundation will allow them to reach all of their goals and dreams in the future, as they continue to be a driving force for our economy."
Prize winners in full:
Grand prize: Dimatrade R100 000
First runner up: Crystal MG Trading R70 000
Second runner up: Nu Wave R50 000
R30 000 winners:
- Eggcellent
- Prestige
- Mabhena Creation
- Galelithuba
- Karabo T & Daughter
- We create
- Bathobile bookings
- Xpress Newspaper
- Rebohle
- Highveld Chronicle
- Lilly’s Soft Tissue
- Legal Herbal
- Shoniwe Projects
- Thenjiwe Beadwork
- Dikuku Bakery
- Aya Holdings
- Phumelele Trading
Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
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