Four local business entrepreneurs are among the 33 top finalists on the prestigious provincial entrepreneurial awards list.
Darling Sweet, Anja’s Pantry, Doring Bay Abalone and West Coast Way are finalists for this year’s Premier’s Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards (PERA). Alan Winde, minister of economic opportunities congratulated all the finalists this week.
Finalists compete in 11 categories with three finalists in each category. The total prize money up for grabs is over R2 million.
Local banting specialty store and eatery, Anja’s Pantry, is a finalist in the best emerging rural business category. Owner Annora Mostert started a shop in Vredenburg last year after she found a lack of banting-friendly options in grocery stores and decided to make her own. The business has since grown to 23 stores and 14 outlets.
Also in this category is Darling Sweet which has been satisfying “sweet tooths” with its toffees since September 2013, thanks to Frits and Hentie van der Merwe. The idea was to create high-quality toffees made using traditional methods, no artificial colourants, flavourings or preservatives. The company also supports the Darling Trust, a charitable trust that assists the local Darling community aiming to empower individuals to help themselves.
Doring Bay entrepreneur Ruben Saul’s Doring Bay Abalone made the list under the best job-creating businesses. The aquaculture sector is an emerging local market and with 55% of the company being black-owned it is the only majority black-owned, land-based abalone farm in South Africa. It is also the only land-based abalone farm in the country with meaningful equity participation by the local community and produces 20 tonnes of abalone each year with production set to increase.
Cape Town based but West Coast focused tourism marketers West Coast Way has been selected as a finalist in the best emerging tourism business category. The brainchild of Carmen Lerm, West Coast Way started in October 2014 and actively markets and showcases the West Coast Biodiversity Corridor and the surrounding towns. A strong online focus and modern business model has helped the company to achieve its aim of increasing visitor numbers and improving economic growth for locals.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday evening 23 November at the Century City Conference Centre.
