Old Mutual Smego Drives SME Development With 2025 Pitchathon Following 2024 Success

The 2025 edition comes of the back of the 2024 Pitchathon where 10 businesses won R300,000 each. Two of the 2024 winners Lindiwe Shibambo from Maid4U and Lebogang Lebogang Maloisane from Softmeetz have used their winnings to pay for critical operational needs helping them to keep their businesses afloat. South Africa globally has one of the highest rates of small business failures of up to 70% in the first five years. Lack of funding is a leading factor.

Speaking at the launch event, Nobesuthu Ndlovu, director SME, Old Mutual shared: “Practically, the SMEgo platform solves for the challenge in funding. Lenders are looking for data to assess risk and fund. We also solve for the macro-economic challenge of employment by helping businesses grow by providing operational tools that are levers for business.”

In an engaging panel titled 'Addressing crucial issues in financing black – owned businesses in the ICT and Financial Service sectors in South Africa' with notable panelists Pali Lehohla, former statistician general, Lincoln Mali, CEO Lesaka Technologies and founding president of APPSA, Thabang Mkhuma, technical advisor at the MICT SETA and Talifhani Banks, CEO Analytics X, several key points were shared

Lehohla started off by painting a comprehensive layout of the funding eco-system between private and government funding. He painted a concerning picture on the support that black business receives. “Government funding vehicles do not feature; banks are at 5% since 2001. SMEs are being funded by family and friends. This is the source of funding for businesses. During Covid, R200b was made available for businesses and only R17b was dispersed. Even in times of crisis, there is no urgency to address a critical growth vehicle for SMEs. Post Covid, there has been no reflection on how we can do this better. It also speaks to the fact that we are not a learning nation."

The MICT SETA, represented by Mkhuma was at pains to point out how the SETA is being proactive in growing and developing the ICT Sector: “The fourth Industrial revolution has forced us to rethink how we roll out skills development. We aim not to educate or skill into unemployment but rather to skill to innovate. Innovating creates entrepreneurs. We have adopted the triple helix model of innovation that involves academia, government and the industry to collaborate to foster innovation.”

This years Pitchathon has a stellar judging panel of Lincoln Mali, Michael Bowren, CEO of Finch Technologies, Tramayne Monaghan, chief investment officer at Next176, Dimakatso Masiteng, CIO at the NYDA, Anneline Dippenaar, CEO of Shop2Shop, Thabang Mkhuma, and Nobesuthu Ndlovu.

The applications for the Pitchathon open on 24 June and close on 15 August 2025. The Live Pitch events will be held on 17 September in Johannesburg and 19 September in Cape Town. Pre-qualifying criteria includes 51% Black ownership, an annual turnover of R500,000 with a minimum of six months trading history.

To enter, go to www.oldmutual.com/pitchathon. Interested applicants can also look out for online or webinar updates from Old Mutual to assist or coach them in refining their pitches.

“The Old Mutual SMEgo Pitchathon is more than just a competition – it’s about creating an ecosystem where great ideas can grow into scalable, sustainable businesses. We're investing in the businesses of South Africans who are building the digital and financial future of our country,” concludes Ndlovu.