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Cyril votes for Entrepreneur of the Year AwardOBSTACLES to business success must be removed if entrepreneurs are to make a meaningful contribution to the economy, says Johnnic chairman Cyril Ramaphosa. In a speech read on his behalf by Corporate Africa chairman Dr Nthato Motlana at the official launch of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Johannesburg this week, Ramaphosa said a lack of finance, experience and expertise and difficulty in accessing markets were stumbling blocks to emerging entrepreneurs and had to be addressed. Ramaphosa, who is also deputy chairman of Corporate Africa, said the government was assisting emerging entrepreneurs through its small business development programmes while some larger companies and non-governmental organisations also had assistance programmes. He called on financial institutions to review their contributions by examining their lending criteria and its suitability to emerging business. Ramaphosa said recognition was another area of support which needed to be looked at. "It's all too easy for the achievements of entrepreneurs to be dwarfed by the activities of larger companies. Entrepreneurs need to become more prominent in our society, so that others may be inspired by their example and learn from their experiences." It was in this area that the Entrepreneur of the Year competition was so important, Ramaphosa said, adding that it should be seen as far more than just a pat on the back for emerging business people. He said it should serve as an incentive to existing entrepreneurs, an encouragement to future entrepreneurs and an exercise in public awareness and profile-building. "Most importantly, it is a tribute to all those South Africans - some well-known, other less so - who have seen the opportunity, have had the courage and the foresight, and have seized the moment." He said entrepreneurs had an important contribution to make in South Africa's economic expansion and described them as economic players who tended to emerge from outside the existing economic infrastructure and created their operations from scratch. While the nature of entrepreneurship lended itself to innovation and dynamism, entrepreneurs usually lacked the resources and market dominance enjoyed by most established companies, he said. The Entrepreneur of the Year Award is open to all entrepreneurs who own and manage their businesses in South Africa and whose businesses have been in existence for longer than two years. The competition aims to honour those individuals whose ingenuity , hard work and innovation have created successful and growing business ventures. Entry forms are available from the offices of the sponsors - BT Money, Ernst & Young, Sanlam, SBDC Limited and Trustbank. The entry form will also be published in most issues of BT Money until the closing date of June 20. Regional judging will take place in August and the national winner will be announced at an awards banquet in Johannesburg on October 9. The winner will be flown to California in November to attend the International Entrepreneur of the Year Institute Conference. Lucienne Fild
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