Business boost beckons

FORTY hand-picked entrepreneurs countrywide will embark on a yearand-a-half journey with venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo’s mentorship programme.

A programme hosted by MyGrowthFund (MGF) was launched to find and nurture highgrowth entrepreneurs through funding, incubation and enterprise development platforms.

The #Top40 will help businesses scale up and grow to meet their defined targets.

Business owners such as Siyabesho Thutha and Danile Zoko said it was an exciting opportunity, especially after being selected from almost 3 000 small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs).

Thutha, the director and designer of Blaque Pearl Lifestyle, said: “We are excited and ecstatic that we were chosen out of many applications to be part of the Top40 journey. There’s nothing like the surety that someone believes so much in your dream and is willing to amplify it.

“We really are looking forward to growing our access to market in the interior design field, growing our business financially and operationally to make it a true success, and of course the mentorship guidance to make sure we achieve the above and become an inspiration for upcoming entrepreneurs,” said Thutha.

Zoko, the founder of Zolu Trading, said he was thrilled to be part of the mentorship programme, especially as he was based in a rural area.

“For one to be selected takes our business to the next level, especially coming from a rural area, QwaQwa, Free State. There is clearly something that we are doing right for people like Vusi to help our business move to the next level.”

According to entrepreneurship guru Thembekwayo, the volume and quality of applications was a reflection that entrepreneurship was alive and thriving in South Africa.

“The final #Top40 list is a mix of small-to-medium businesses, turning over between R1 million and R39 million annually. Each member of the management team has at least a decade of experience building businesses, so we know the entrepreneur’s journey and understand their challenges.”