Don’t miss the deadline for our Western Cape Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards

Today we visited two entrepreneurs who are previous winners of the Western Cape Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards (WCERA) and who are inspiring business women creating opportunities for those living in their communities. And so, I’d like to call on all entrepreneurs in the province, to enter WCERA by the deadline on the 10 August 2021. 

WCERA is our premium entrepreneurship competition and recognises the achievements and potential of the most inspiring entrepreneurs in the Western Cape. Now in its ninth year, WCERA celebrates the hard work of entrepreneurs and their contributions to job creation and economic growth in the Western Cape. 

The competition recognises and awards talents such as Ntombie Nonxuba of Rise Uniforms, who in 2020 was awarded as Entrepreneur of the Year.  

Today, I had the privilege of visiting Ntombie’s business in Philippi which employs 46 people from the local community and manufactures and supplies uniforms and corporate wear across the country. Rise Uniforms has a well-established record of consistently supplying and delivering uniforms to well-known brands such as Pick ‘n Pay. 

I also visited the owner and founder of 4Roomed eKasi Culture, Abigail Mbalo, who is a Dental Technologist by profession and the winner of the Township Business category in 2020.  

After partaking in the Master Chef SA, season 3 competition, she swapped her laboratory coat to follow a passion in food, art and home décor design culminating in the birth of her company 4Roomed eKasi Culture, a restaurant and township tourism business. 

As a tourism and hospitality business, 4Roomed eKasi Culture has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the alert level restrictions, but Abigail has shown great resilience and pivoted the business to operate a food truck a few metres away from the original restaurant to bolster sales during this difficult time.  

Entrepreneurs like Abigail and Ntombie remind us of the important role business owners play in their local communities by creating jobs, supporting skills development and providing opportunities for those who need it most.  

And they are role models for others, especially young people, who can learn from them and be inspired to start their own businesses. 

The recent South African Economic Update report from the World Bank highlights the importance of entrepreneurs for solving the jobs crisis, noting that, “Self-employment represents only 10 per cent of jobs in South Africa, as against 30 per cent in most upper-middle-income countries including Turkey, Mexico and Brazil. If South Africa were to match the self-employment rate of its peers, it could potentially halve its unemployment rates.”

The report goes on to state that, "a rate of self-employment of 30 per cent (without decreasing the other forms of employment) would increase the number of workers by about 3.5 million, or half of people who are currently unemployed."

Which is why it’s more important than ever that we support and encourage our entrepreneurs. Their entrepreneurial spirit is exactly what we need as we work together to rebuild the economy in the Western Cape. 

This year, a total of R300,000 in prize money will be awarded to entrepreneurs across WCERA categories, including: 

• Emerging business 
• Women-owned business 
• Innovative business 
• Township business 
• Social enterprise business 
• Youth-owned business  

To enter, visit: www.wcentrepreneurshipawards.co.za 

Listen to soundbyte from Minister David Maynier: