Standard Bank announces 10 provincial SMEs competing for R1m pitch prize at Kasi SME Summit in Gqeberha on 27 August

The finalists, representing all nine provinces, will pitch their businesses at the Kasi SME Summit in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on 27 August.

The businesses span sectors including agriculture, healthcare, food production, manufacturing, beauty and personal care, media, recycling and sustainable construction.

The finalists are:

• Buhlebenkosi Agri Productions – Free State
• Ezempilo Primecare Clinic – North West
• GQ Creamery – Eastern Cape
• Maduwa Paint World – Gauteng
• Marabou Essentials – North West
• Muzi Capital Media – Western Cape
• Mycopro – KwaZulu-Natal
• PSD Scent Perfumes – Mpumalanga
• Trash Converters – Limpopo
• Uuka Bricks – Northern Cape

The 10 businesses include the nine provincial winners, with an additional finalist securing a place through the competition's Viewers' Choice process.

From provincial winners to national final

The finalists were selected through a provincial competition before progressing to the national stage, where they will present their businesses to a panel of judges.

The competition is part of Standard Bank's fourth annual Kasi SME Summit, which brings together small businesses, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders around entrepreneurship and enterprise development.

This year's summit is themed "Commercialising Kasi: Unlocking Competitive Township Businesses".

Naledzani Mosomane, head of Enterprise and Supplier Development at Standard Bank South Africa's Business and Commercial Banking division, said the competition highlighted the entrepreneurial potential within communities.

“The enthusiasm we have seen from not only SMEs but also the communities that support them, right across the country, highlights the growing appetite for entrepreneurship,” said Mosomane.

The pitch challenge forms part of Standard Bank's Enterprise and Supplier Development programme, which provides qualifying majority Black-owned SMEs with funding, mentorship, skills development, business support and market access opportunities.