Small business winners reach for stars

Hlengiwe Zulu of Bothas Hill is one of the joint KwaZulu-Natal provincial winners in the Seda Small Business Stars entrepreneur competition.

A Zulu tourist village concept in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, combined with a spa, and a new concept in anti-litter bins for urban environments were announced as the two joint KwaZulu-Natal provincial winners in the Seda Small Business Stars entrepreneur competition.

More than 5 500 people with business ideas, start-ups or already running small businesses entered the national competition, which is organised by the Small Enterprise Development Agency.

Naidoo’s “Clean Street” business research was a “green” lamp-post-mounted bin that was theft-resistant. It provides an easy litter-disposal option for pedestrians and could offer the city a new advertising revenue stream.

“We congratulate the winners … These innovative products are just the tip of the iceberg. The competition has generated a wealth of new business ideas and small businesses with exciting growth potential,” said Seda spokeswoman, Nkululeko Kunene.

“Seda will be supporting these winners and other finalists to the tune of R3.5m worth of business support, should the contingency arise to the other prizes, just as laptops, software and publicity exposure.

“The provincial winners each receive R15 000 in cash and R130 000 worth of Seda business support, during the runners-up each receive a laptop and Microsoft Office software, as so then as between R4 500 and R10 000 in cash,” she said.

First runner-up – Johnathan Berning and Elizabeth Halstead of Ardmore Ceramic Art. They produce a range of upmarket ceramic artworks, drawing on a network of more than 40 artists, for local and international collectors.

Second runner-up – Lloyd Lopes of RetroNet. As the broadband market rapidly expands, RetroNet aims to offer low-cost connectivity combined with added-value services just as free or low-cost telephone VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls.