SAVCA to honour businesses who thrived with investment

Portfolio companies, private equity and venture capital funds have until Monday, 15 August to enter the 2022 SAVCA Industry Awards hosted by the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association in partnership with Investec.

To be considered, nominated funds must have exited in the past 12 months leading up to 15 June this year. However, companies’ performance in the last 36 months will be judged, says SAVCA spokesperson Shelley Lotz.

The awards function is scheduled for Thursday, 10 November 2022 – the first since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

Lotz says, “We are thrilled to once again host the SAVCA Industry Awards, the first opportunity that we’ve had to give recognition to thriving portfolio companies since 2019. We look forward to celebrating the success of the companies that have shown resilience and strength during a particularly difficult trading conditions.”

The competition comes amid tough economic conditions in which successful businesses and entrepreneurs count among Africa’s most valuable resources, says Lotz. Small enterprises are estimated to employ up to 60% of South Africa’s workforce and are responsible for a quarter of total job growth in the private sector.

The determination of these enterprises to find opportunities in niche markets and their grit to continue pushing forward is vital in assisting economic recover in the post-lockdown environment, says Lotz.

She notes that both private equity and venture capital play an important part in supporting portfolio companies in their drive to create and retain jobs as well as in their positive contribution to economic growth.

“Beyond just the funds that they inject into the business, investors offer support in the form of tailored value-creation plans for investee companies, which help to create better management structures and devise better strategies to weather challenging economic times. The SAVCA Industry Awards is a platform to showcase the best of these success stories.”

According to Lotz investors can nominate investee companies for the awards, or companies can nominate themselves. Any business that has thrived with the help of private equity or venture capital investment qualifies to enter.

She explains that the awards committee will select winners based on evidence of their growth over the last three years, the jobs that these companies have been able to create or preserve, the innovation that they have brought to their industry, their environmental and social impact, as well as the leadership that the management teams have demonstrated.

Andrew Moffat, joint head of Investec Investment Banking, adds that recognising the contribution of entrepreneurship and growing businesses is something that is close to Investec’s heart.

“Investec is proud of the partnerships that we have entered into with entrepreneurial firms who look for opportunities, do their part to ensure the ongoing evolution of their industries, and help to elevate those around them by creating jobs. That is the reason that we support the SAVCA Industry Awards, which plays a pivotal role in acknowledging the businesses that are making a difference in their sector and the wider economy.”

This year’s four award categories are start-ups, small or medium enterprises (SMMEs), mid-market companies and large companies. Start-ups have no enterprise value restrictions, but they must be early-stage businesses, no more than five years old.

SMMEs need enterprise values and revenues of less than R200 million and have to be established with positive cash flows. Mid-market companies must have enterprise values and revenue between R200 million and R1,5 billion, and large companies need enterprise values and revenues of more than R1,5 billion.

“We’re incredibly happy to once again be able to host these awards in person after a long and challenging lockdown period. We look forward to meeting and acknowledging the best portfolio companies that Southern Africa has to offer at an award ceremony that means so much to the industry,” Lotz concludes.

Nominations can be submitted online or by completing a PDF document and emailing it to nkumalo@intellidex.co.za.

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