…..FNB COMMITS WITH E1.5 MILLION
MBABANE– Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo has today launched the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) 2023.
This took place in a press conference earlier today held at Hilton Garden Inn, the Awards were last held in 2019 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that first made its way in the country in 2019.
When introducing the awards, Khumalo said his Ministry aimed to uncover exceptional businesses that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovativeness in their business ventures.
He said over the past years, over 90 MSMEs have been awarded cash prizes and motor vehicles to reinvest in their enterprises.
“As a Ministry, we will continue to pursue an integrated SME support system for the effective delivery of SME support interventions. We believe that through both policy intervention and on-the-ground programmes such as this Award competition, the SME sector will be positioned to meaningfully contribute to the nation’s exports, fiscal, employment creation and poverty reduction.” He said.
This was the same event where Khumalo introduced the new Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) Board Chairman Dr. Mandla Dlamini.
Khumalo entrusted Dlamini with the responsibility of making sure that everything runs smoothly and goes according to plan in the organisation.
Meanwhile SEDCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Khethiwe Mhlanga said the award competition greatly benefits MSMEs by exposing them to potential customers and new markets, funding agents for financial assistance for further growth and expansion as well as exposure to world-class standards and best business practices.
“For us as an organisation, they help us to identify MSMEs and create a database for sustained engagement,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed by First National Bank CEO Dennis Mbingo whose company is the title sponsor.
Mbingo said they have been supporting the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for a decade now, having started as a category sponsor and now a title sponsor. In light of the way this collaborating programme has stood the test of time, despite the forced gap during the most difficult years of the pandemic, FNB is seeking to increase our sponsorship.
“Today we are committing E1.5million, which is nearly double our last spend,” he said.
Worth noting is that the EYA awards have been held annually since 2002 to encourage and promote an entrepreneurial spirit and competitiveness among MSMEs in Eswatini.
This year’s categories include Youth Entrepreneur of the year, Female Entrepreneur of the year, Most Innovative, Most Techno Savvy, Handicraft, Street Vendor, Merchandiser, and People living with Disability and Agribusiness, among others.
