Want to get your business going?
SMALL BUSINESS EXPO OFFERS GREAT OPPORTUNITIES, INTERACTION All the exposure you need.
The Small Business Expo, to be held at the TicketPro Dome from August 31 to September 2 is devoted to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), providing an invaluable platform for small businesses to market their businesses and interact with prominent business leaders, corporates and procurement buyers.
SMEs stand a chance of securing funding, market exposure and new partnerships through the annual Eskom Business Investment Competition (BIC) and the expo.
Enjoying a rare opportunity to improve their businesses, market their companies effectively, network with potential business partners and carry out live market research, small business owners report that this annual opportunity delivers long-term benefits.
Eskom uses the opportunity to announce the winners of the annual Eskom BIC, in which substantial prizes are awarded to black-owned businesses in the manufacturing, engineering/ construction, agriculture/agriprocessing and services/trade sectors.
The overall winner stands to win R150 000 to invest in their business, while each sector winner receives business investment support of R100 000. Runnersup and finalists also receive cash prizes.
The BIC finalists are also hosted at the Eskom pavilion, where they attend the numerous training events and development workshops at the expo.
Eskom also features leading Eskom Simama Ranta schools who run enterprise clubs across South Africa at the expo.
The overall winner of the 2016 BIC, Nomcebo Sibanyoni, owner of Nomcebo Printers in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, reports that her participation in the competition and expo has delivered longterm benefits for the company.
“The BIC was quite intimidating, but my participation gave me an opportunity to review my business model and strategies; and the input from the expert judges helped us to focus on long-term goals,” she says.
“One concern raised during the process was our focus on servicing the mines within our province. As a result, we have reconsidered our strategy and are diversifying our products and customer base.”
Winning the BIC also gave Nomcebo Printers valuable exposure, adding to its credibility, she says.
“The Lydenburg Chamber of Commerce subsequently gave us an award for being a business that helped put Lydenburg on the map. This has helped build trust in our abilities among existing and potential customers,” Sibanyoni said.
The three-day expo, which is co-located with the #BuyaBusiness expo, provides SMEs, businesses, investors and franchisors with a versatile platform from which to network, explore new partnerships, build brand awareness, as well as generate media coverage.
For more information go to and or e-mail info@SmallBizExpo.