R30k up for grabs in Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs

Are you somewhere between the age of 18 and 35 who wants to start their own business?

You could apply for the 2019 Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs. The winner will walk away with a R30 000 cash prize.

The competition, which is now in its 10th year, is an SME Toolkit and Business Partners initiative. It aims to assist young and ambitious individuals — aged 18 to 35 years old — who want to start their own ventures.

South African looking to participate in the competition can do so here before 31 July.

Applications for the 2019 Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs will close on 31 July

In a statement last week, Business Partners group enterprise development manager Petro Bothma explained that the annual competition consists of three phases.

The three phases are a workshops phase, business plan drafting phase where regional winners will be selected and finally, an awards ceremony where the overall winner will be chosen.

At an initial full-day workshop held in locations across SA, entrants will be taught the intricacies of developing a business plan and cover the essential elements of starting a business — including business management, marketing, financial management and legal requirements.

The workshops will be held between 12 and 23 August in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town as well as Polokwane, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth and East London if more than 10 entries are received per location.

Following the regional workshops, participants will draft their own business plan and submit them by 27 September in the second phase of the competition.

Regional winners will then be selected and provided with mentorship support vouchers to the value of R10 000 each. The competition’s regional award events will take place between 21 and 31 October.

The regional winners will then compete with other finalists in the third phase of the competition which will culminate in an awards ceremony to be held in Johannesburg on 26 November during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

In addition to a R30 000 cash prize the national winner get a R20 000 mentorship voucher and a goodie bag comprising of various sponsored prizes.

Business Partners executive general manager David Morobe (pictured above), commenting in the same statement, said the contraction of the SA economy — 3.2 percent in the first three months of the year — can only be remedied by the “financing and robust development” of young entrepreneurs.

“Small and medium owner-managed businesses are the driving force of South Africa’s economy and nurturing entrepreneurial talent will help emerging businesses succeed faster,” said Morobe.

Featured image: Business Partners executive general manager David Morobe