Pitch and polish empowers entrepreneurs
SANDTON – Aspiring entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to polish their pitching skills.
Engen’s Pitch and Polish initiative is a business competition and workshop programme which exposes business owners and would-be entrepreneurs to enterprise development training.
During the programme, expert guidance on how to pitch a business idea effectively is offered.
On 10 November, a finale was held at LevelThree in Kramerville, Sandton, to see who could offer the most polished business pitch.
The event, which was hosted by Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and SAfm, culminated in a prestigious event.
Alan Shannon, head of small business and professional banking at Nedbank said, “We firmly believe that small business is the driver of the economy and employment. We believe in elevating and developing entrepreneurs, which is exactly what this programme does.”
Murendeni Mafumo, the winner of the competition, received R60 000 as his prize.
Mafumo said, “Just before the final pitch I was so nervous, and once on the stage, the immense preparation helped me deliver a polished pitch. After winning, I feel grateful for the validation of my dreams.”
Murendeni, who lives in Fourways, won the judges over with his pitch on his existing business, Kusini Water, which uses technology to treat water. Today he ensures that people, specifically in rural areas, have clean drinking water.
Unathi Njokweni-Magida, Engen’s group transformation manager, said that she was expecting big things this year as it is the seventh year that the company has been a part of the programme.
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“Seven is a magic number. This year’s competition has exceeded all my expectations, from the quality of the contestants to the aliveness of the audience, as well as the professionalism of the judges. We could not have asked for more.”
She proudly added, “This year, the competition hit record numbers with 2 300 entrepreneurs participating in the workshops.”
The programme has been so successful that it caught the eye of Business Day TV which commissioned Pitch and Polish for a 10-week TV series which began in October.
Details: www.facebook.com/PitchandPolish
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