The winner of the 10th Engen Pitch and Polish workshop and competition was announced during a glitzy event in Hyde Park.
The competition takes place across the country and sees entrepreneurs from each region pitching their business to the audience using the skills they learn on the day. Impressive business pitches enabled contestants to progress through a series of rounds before the top three were selected to give their final pitch on 8 October. Natasha Warries, Kedibone Tsiloane, and Mashela Mokgabudi delivered their final pitch in the hopes of winning over R80 000 in prizes.
The competition, which is a Raizcorp initiative, has Engen as its headline sponsor including gold sponsor Nedbank. Caxton Local Media is proud to be a media partner for the initiative.
The contestants delivered strong pitches and impressed judges Allon Raiz, the founder of Raizcorp, Khalid Latiff, the head of corporate strategy and communication for Engen and Alan Shannon, the executive for professional and small business banking at Nedbank.
Warries, who manufactures and distributes a forecourt cleaner to filling stations, impressed the judges with her storytelling ability and her passion while Tsiloane, who produces bricks made from plastic, delivered a confident pitch and impressed the judges with her environmentally-friendly product and her knowledge of all its specifications.
However, in the end, the judges were blown away by Mokgabudi’s pitch for her business which manufactures and distributes menstrual cups. A passionate Mokgabudi said, “Like five million other girls in South Africa, and more than half a billion girls in Africa, I had to go through the same dilemma of starting my period without having the means to manage it. I could choose to stay away from school… or resort to using anything I could get my hands on, and I chose the latter… but I told my friends that one day I am going to change this narrative and make sure I end period poverty in Africa.”
An emotional Mokgabudi stood on the stage in disbelief following the announcement that she was the winner. She was awarded R60 000 as well as R20 000 Caxton Local Media campaign. Warries, in third place, was awarded R15 000, while Tsiloane was awarded R30 000 for second place.
Details: pitchandpolish.com
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