BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – The race to the national Entrepreneur of the Year awards is heating up!
This comes after today the Minister of Commerce, Manqoba Khumalo, awarded Sandile Maziya of Buhleni as the Hhohho Region Entrepreneur of the Year.
Maziya is the Director of Sizabantu Spares, a company under Santhu Jozana Investment which operates in the Hhohho region.
Speaking during the awards ceremony, Minister Khumalo stated that he was grateful for the opportunity to once again celebrate the achievements of outstanding MSMEs who have demonstrated remarkable entrepreneurial qualities in the region.
“The Hhohho region has the second-highest number of MSMEs in the country, with the region hosting 25% of MSMEs in the country,” noted the Minister.
“I was also happy to learn that the Hhohho region received the highest number of entrants from technology start-up companies. I guess one can say this region is like the “Silicon Valley of the country” with Mbabane as the centre of the country’s technology industry. This is encouraging because as a country we aspire to also grow and lead in this global digital economy,” added the Minister.
Runners-up of the Hhohho regional entrepreneurship awards were Behlule Dlomo of Direct Ups under the Techno savvy category, Musa Vilakati of Ekhaya Funeral for Most Improved, Bandile Dlamini of BPD Team for Most Innovative and Bongani Dlamini of Cimbresh Investment under Green businesses, Sifiso Maseko of Africa Brand House for Youth Owned, Dumsani Simelane of Melani Leather for Handicraft, Setsabile Mkhonta of Emahlungwane Grocery under Retailer, Funeka Mdluli of Infinity Global under Women Owned and Sihle Masina under Agri-business.
The Minister recognized all the hard work that these entrepreneurs have put in to make their businesses successful.
“I strongly believe that Entrepreneurs who want to succeed in today’s business world must have key qualities such as the ability to adapt to various challenges quickly, the flair to create novel solutions and the grit to persevere in adversity,” said Minister Khumalo.
“Innovation is critical in harnessing new opportunities in business. This is because businesses that leverage technology and innovative solutions are better placed to compete locally, and globally and able to capture growth opportunities for the future. With this being said, I encourage all of our entrepreneurs here to dream big and not only think local but to think global,” said the Minister in encouraging the entrepreneurs.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) competition is an initiative that aims to recognize and reward business excellence in an endeavour to cultivate an entrepreneurial culture in Eswatini. The National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards will be held on 28 July 2023.
