Awarded for business acumen
A PORT Elizabeth real estate agent is among the national winners of a prestigious competition honouring women in business.
Kobie Potgieter, owner of Re/Max Independent, was named national winner in the small and medium enterprise (SME) category of Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government awards, held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The pan-African competition has attracted more than 9 000 nominations from 43 countries.
This was the first leg of nine events to take place across the continent and the keynote address at the event was given by South Africa’s Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela. Another finalist in the SME category hailing from Port Elizabeth is the owner of Spinqueen Laundromat, Hlubi Hewitt-Coleman. The overall Southern African Development Community regional winner of the SME category announced on Wednesday was Reana Rossouw.
Potgieter’s award follows the announcement last week that she was also among Re/Max’s 10 top-selling agents worldwide, based on residential sales commission out of 90 000 agents in 93 countries. The property dynamo runs the international franchise’s biggest operation in the Eastern Cape, with offices in Lorraine, Walmer and Brymore.
She said her recent achievements helped to further her ambition of making a significant contribution to her community.
“For me it’s about being a role model and inspiring young girls and women to believe in themselves.
“If you want to be successful in business you must be willing to make certain sacrifices to achieve your goals. Dedication, hard work and surrounding yourself with like-minded, competent people are the driving forces behind my success,” Potgieter said.
She said the award provided the ideal platform to promote the development of businesswomen in Nelson Mandela Bay. “If I can assist and mentor them, we can grow our local economy and create a thriving business environment in which women play a more influential role.”
Winners of Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government awards are announced at each event in Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia and the overall continental winners will be announced and celebrated in SA on October 30.