The Entrepreneur of the Year award is the ultimate acknowledgment everyone should aspire to. It is not just about the competition, it is much more than that. The Entrepreneur of the Year competition is about developing the standard of excellence in entrepreneurship all over South Africa. It is about promoting excellence as the norm and not the exception. The program is also about promoting entrepreneurship as an honorable and rewarding, yet challenging career. It is about educating entrepreneurs so that they reach that standard of excellence.

Furthermore, the program educates the youth about what it entails to be an entrepreneur so that they can make better choices about their career options. And at the end of the day, we expect to influence government legislation in not only how the country facilitates the subject of entrepreneurship in our schools but also what legislation should be in place to ensure that we create a healthy legal environment in which our entrepreneurs can operate their businesses and thrive.

Propose

The program will focus on

• Contributing to the development of the standard of excellence in entrepreneurship throughout South Africa;
• Promoting entrepreneurial excellence as the norm and not the exception. Similarly, promoting entrepreneurship as an honorable and rewarding yet challenging career.
• Educating entrepreneurs so that they reach a standard of excellence;
• Educating the youth about what entrepreneurship entails with the aim of encouraging them to select entrepreneurship as a viable career option;
• Furthermore, influencing government legislation by being the voice of entrepreneurs in order to create a healthy legal environment in which entrepreneurs can thrive.

The judging process

The judging process is completely independent. The judges represent different areas of the business community. The evaluation process runs through three different filtering processes, which ensure that everything is checked and rechecked to remove any human error or human preference which may creep in from time to time.

The data requested also gives the judges very important and critical information that they need in order to make a complete and holistic judgment on the candidate being reviewed. The judging process will complete through an interview with each finalist to ensure that there is a proper answer to any questions or issues needing clarification. Furthermore, the programs for site visits are also possible.

Prizes

Finalists stand the chance to win prizes worth a total value of R2 million, which includes cash prizes of R500 000. Finalists and winners are able to expand their networks and receive invaluable media exposure for their businesses as a result of the competition.

To enter, entrepreneurs can complete the entry form available on the site during the year. The competition closes on 31 May each year.