IDC BMF sefa Business Plan competition
Open for business: Soweto business owners eligible for exciting IDC BMF sefa Business Plan competition
For those Soweto-based entrepreneurs that may long have dreamed of starting or expanding their own businesses, this dream could now become a reality. An exciting competition has been launched to encourage the growth of entrepreneurship within townships and local entrepreneurs are encouraged to enter their business plans. The competition is distinctly different to most: rather than limiting recognition to the top three entrants alone, the competition will provide training to the top fifty applicants, as well as rewarding winners in a variety of categories. A briefing session will be held on Saturday 13th October at 10am at the Walter Sisulu Square, cnr Klipspruit Valley Road and Union Road Kliptown, Soweto.
The Black Management Forum (BMF) Soweto Branch has launched the IDC BMF sefa Business Plan competition in association with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), endorsed by the University of Johannesburg Centre for Small Business Development (CSBD). The aim of the competition is to equip existing and potential small business owners with critical business management skills, as well as the ability to prepare sound business plans. Eta Motlhabi, spokesperson of the IDC BMF sefa Business Plan competition, says that the competition will provide a meaningful learning experience for small business owners, aimed at enhancing their chances of success.
The IDC BMF sefa Business Plan competition is open to business entities based in the Greater Soweto area, Roodepoort, Northcliff and Randburg, Orange Farm in Ennerdale and the Johannesburg inner city. Motlhabi says that the competition is intended to be a pilot, managed through the BMF Soweto branch, following which there are plans to extend the competition nationally.
The competition will be hosted in three phases, the first of which will enable entry submissions from within the selected regions during the month of October and first week of November, with the closing date being midnight on 9 November 2012. Entries should include an application form and a business plan. There is a non-refundable entry fee of R200. Following this, a list of the top fifty entrants will be invited to take part in a training programme which will enable them to fine tune their business plans and submit these for the second phase.
Phase 3, which will be held from the 21 to 25 January2013, will result in a shortlist of the top ten business plans. In mid January 2013, the finalists will be invited to take part in specialised, free training. Applications throughout the competition will be adjudicated by a panel of representatives from the IDC, BMF, and sefa . The top three business plans will be awarded a 6- to 12-months experiential incubation or a full business diagnostic, along with an investment of between R50,000 and R 150,000 towards business equipment. Additional incubation and cash investment prizes, will also be awarded to the most innovative business plan, the best business plan submitted by a woman, the best business plan submitted by a youth, and the best business plan submitted by a manufacturing concern.
The IDC, which has sponsored the BMF Business Plan competition prizes, is proud to support this initiative. The IDC’s Head of Innovation, Zanele Monnakgotla, says, “This initiative not only aims to better equip business owners who become finalists, but will assist in encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship within townships. “As sefa aims to become a leading financier of SMMEs, it is important that those who have potential to become entrepreneurs are given a boost. We hope that this competition triggers even those who don’t win to pursue their business plans,” says Mr Don Mashele Head of Retail Operations at sefa.
Interested applicants are invited to enter the competition by downloading the online application form from the BMF website at www.bmfonline.co.za or http://openinnovation.idc.co.za. The site details a full list of rules governing the competition, including the industry groups in which businesses should fall. Completed applications can either be emailed to competition@idc.co.za or physically delivered to the BMF Soweto office at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus between 08h00 and 17h00.