Can Do celebrated the conclusion of the Unbreakable Entrepreneurs competition in Sandton and awarded the lucky winner with R100 000.
Can Do, the consumer-facing brand for Nampak Bevcan, which is Africa’s largest manufacturer of aluminium beverage cans, hosted the competition for the second year in a row to celebrate young entrepreneurs with a ‘can do’ attitude.
The top six entrepreneurs, who have an existing business, are given the opportunity to create a promotional video about their business and promote it online. This year, the finalists included a female-run construction business, a fitness brand and a brand styling company.
Sinenhlanhla Mkhize, marketing manager for Nampak Bevcan said, “We are here to celebrate the amazing young people who have the unbreakable spirit.”
The winner of the competition is awarded R100 000 in resources while the first and second runners-up are awarded R50 000 and R25 000 respectively to help grow their businesses.
Last year’s winner, Thando Vimba, created a company called Mr Sponge which cleans, refurbishes and customises sneakers. He said the competition had provided him with the resources to grow his business and branded his company in a way that has made it recognisable.
Mirriam Kanju was announced this year’s winner thanks to her perfume brand Liomi. Kanju realised that selling her perfumes in large department stores posed many challenges so instead, she employed sales representatives to sell the perfume directly to people.
Kanju said, “Winning this prize means everything to me. When I started this business I was really inspired to create jobs. Even with the little I made when I first started this business, I still hired representatives to sell Liomi where they would receive 30 per cent of the share, which was my way of proving that it’s not only about profit, it’s about sharing.”
Kanju added that the support of her husband, Ownway and her mother Lillian Kgole had helped push her through tough times. She concluded that the prize will help her to grow her business and potentially sell her perfumes in stores one day.
Share your thoughts on the Can Do Unbreakable Entrepreneur competition on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page
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