Meet The 2017 Entrepreneur Of The Year® Winners Following a gruelling judging process and assessment of 15 successful finalists, South Africa's premier annual entrepreneurial competition, Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners, announced six 2017 winners at an awards ceremony held on 6 September 2017 in Johannesburg.
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Following a gruelling judging process and assessment of 15 successful finalists, South Africa's premier annual entrepreneurial competition, Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners, announced six 2017 winners at an awards ceremony held on 6 September 2017 in Johannesburg. The event saw Willem van der Merwe, owner of Africa Biomass Company, receiving the coveted title of Entrepreneur of the Year®.
Speaking at the event, spokesperson for the competition, Christo Botes, says that while selecting one entrepreneur to be the overall winner was no easy task – especially given the exceptionally high standard of this year's finalists – van der Merwe was a notch above the rest in terms of the raw entrepreneurial nature of his business.
"Through the establishment of Africa Biomass Company (ABC) – which specialises in land clearing, wood chipping, and wood recycling – Willem [van der Merwe] has not only created a successful business by clearing landowners unwanted trees, he has also shaped a new industry in South Africa by introducing the novel concept of wood recycling," he says.
Read more: http://www.eoy.co.za/posts/south-africas-leading-entrepreneur-2017-revealed-2314/
2017 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year®: Sizwe Nzima and Siraaj Adams, owners of Iyeza Health
Having started as a bicycle delivery company that delivered chronic medication from health clinics in Khayelitisha to patients' homes in the township, Iyeza Group has evolved into a health logistics company with a wide array of capabilities.
2017 Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year®: Itumeleng Phake, founder and owner of Zenzele Fitness Group
Zenzele Fitness Group is a dynamic fitness and wellness company that is making health and fitness more accessible to South Africans in middle and lower LSM groups.
2017 Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®: Nomfundo Mcoyi, founder and owner of Icebolethu Group
Established as Icebolethu Funerals in 2009 as a funeral parlour, with a complement of just five staff members, the business has evolved into a prominent funeral services conglomerate with international presence and around 300 employees.
2017 Job Creator of the Year®: Siphiwe Ngcobo, owner and founder of iLawu Hospitality Group
Founded in 2009 as a humble five-bedroomed B&B in Pietermaritzburg, iLawu Hospitality Group has since expanded to become one of the well-recognised hospitality and catering brands in KwaZulu-Natal, providing countless jobs to the community.
Read more: http://www.eoy.co.za/posts/determined-hospitality-entrepreneur-named-job-creator-year-2305/
2017 Innovator of the Year®: Mpodumo Doubada, founder and owner of Pimp My Book
Pimp my Book, an ever-growing chain of campus stores across the country, was founded in 2006 on the simple premise of buying and selling used textbooks and making them significantly more affordable to students.
