The South African Small Business Awards recognises the tireless journey, hard work, outstanding achievements and vision of small business and entrepreneurial success.
It is a celebration of the most outstanding businesses and the exceptional business people behind these successful and growing businesses! It is the springboard to enhanced business success.
Winners to be announced at a
glitzy gala event
16 November 2023
Bryanston Country Club, Johannesburg.
In order to enter you need to be an NSBC Member*. Once logged in to the NSBC Member Zone you will be able to access the online entry form.
Once the entry form has been completed and the required documentation collected and uploaded you can simply submit your entry online.
An experienced panel of judges then assess the entries and based on the criteria for each category select and announce the finalists.
The finalists and a prestigious guest list of big and small business decision makers are then invited to attend a glitzy online gala event where the winners are announced.
Entries are free and exclusive to NSBC Members.
The competition is evaluated in four categories and entrants are permitted to enter more than one category.
National Small Business Champion of the Year
Less than 250 employees.
National Entrepreneur Champion of the Year
Owners that show entrepreneurial excellence.
Woman in Business Champion of the Year
Those special ladies who believe that they have what it takes to reach the top of the game.
National Startup Champion of the Year
Businesses Started less than 18 months ago.
Established in 1995, Network Configurations (NETCONFIG) was a small IT support company assisting businesses to implement IT networks and systems. Over the years they have grown to support their clients’ ever-changing needs and guide them on the journey of leveraging technology for their business gains. Iain Emerson recalls a dark time for NETCONFIG when the focus was on growth and not the financial implications of it. But Iain never backed down from the challenge and focused on returning to basics and rebuilding his company. In the future, Network Configurations hopes to expand into other technology and enablement services such as technology productivity training.
Founded in August 2017, Chepa Streetwear is an African-print clothing manufacturer and retailer. They draw inspiration from modern designs and infuse them with African print paying great attention to detail and quality. Dumisani Mahlangu’s entrepreneurial journey started at a young age selling sweets, boerewors rolls, t-shirts, and sneakers. Dumisani sees himself as resilient, forward thinking, technologically driven, and patient with growth. He believes in taking calculated risks to stretch the boundaries and see how far they can go on Chepa Streetwear’s path of growth.
Job crystal is working towards making a dent in unemployment in South Africa. Sasha Knott and her team aim to help SMEs hire better, faster, and cheaper so they can grow. Worldwide and proudly South African in that they offer recruitment technology that is revolutionary in finding talent faster than you can read this line. In the future, Job Crystal would like to continue to help more South-African based businesses to hire better and faster.
Established near the start of 2021, Kicks Sportwear designs and produces proudly African, feel-good sportswear that offers a unique and competitive alternative to global sports brands. Sammy Mhaule’s entrepreneurial journey started at fourteen when he sold ice creams. He describes himself as someone who is always willing to share his knowledge with other entrepreneurs. He likes to surround himself with like-minded individuals. Kicks Sportwear has also partnered with Makhadzi in an R120 million sneaker mega deal, and it is a perfect collaboration.
Startwise’s mission is to help the next generation of entrepreneurs build successful startups by giving them access to leading industry business experts in South Africa. This platform offers an on-demand web-based application that matches entrepreneurs with experienced business mentors and industry professionals in South Africa. Velly Bosega started Startwise because of the struggles he faced when launching new products or businesses. In the future, Startwise wants to connect 1 million small businesses with over 100,000 business mentors by 2030.
APARA Global is a Johannesburg-based fashion and styling company that produces clothing through recycled trash. Ayanda More founded her company in 2018 when she had the opportunity to assist in styling at the African Fashion International Fashion Week 2018. Since then, she has built a brand which embraces sustainability and giving back to the community. She was named a PMI Future 50 Leader honouree in 2021 and hopes to continue to impact leadership development among the youth so that it has a transformational impact on South Africa and beyond.
As people and change specialists, DialogueSA transform people dynamics and create vibrant, healthy organisations by activating potent leadership. They encourage leaders to optimise their culture for their strategic outcomes, teaching coaching skills, mindset and change models and partnering them in practices for impact. For 22 years, they have operated as an agile, creative support solution to large, medium, and small organisations. Connect, collaborate, and create are the key concepts for Amanda Holt and inspire her at work and home. Amanda sees DialogueSA as continuing to forge strongly ahead, as they reach more people, inspiring them to better ways of thinking, acting, and delivering change so that everyone can co-create a better future.
Established in 1997, Feelgood Health is an online natural health shop. Michele Carelse is the founder of Feelgood Health. She is a trailblazer as she started working with natural and organic health products 20 years ago when health products were still quite a niche market. Feelgood Health has set their sights on becoming the biggest online retailer of natural, planet-friendly health products in South Africa. They have also partnered with Gift of The Givers and customers can leave a donation amount on check out which is given to Gift of The Givers.
Varsity Vibe is South Africa's first student/youth-specific rewards platform. They help the youth of South Africa get more bang for their buck. Furthermore, they help businesses all over South Africa better engage with the future leaders of South Africa. What first started as a self-funded start-up where Dino Talotti would go knock on doors asking to speak to the manager or owner, has now become a household name for students all over South Africa. In the future, they hope to be on every 16 – 25-year-old’s phone and that they engage with the app every day. They also want to continue to help their partner brands to better engage with the youth of South Africa.
Clean-Pro Systems is a specialist bulk supplier of cleaning and facilities chemicals, consumables and products to the cleaning and facilities industries in our country. They also provide valued training and consultancy to these industries for their client’s operational staff with PBEH (Professional Body for Environmental Hygiene) certification. Established in October 2017, Verina Coleman has instilled her values of respect, responsibility, excellence, integrity, and innovation into her business. With 20 years in the industry, she learnt early on to succeed you need to never quit and have no excuses – just do it.
Enslins Bloemfontein is a whole ecosystem of integrating services that feed off each other and are aligned to ensure there is no gap in the financial requirements of their clients. Marinus Hoek has created a business over time which offers a bundle of services for a person’s financial needs. By sticking to the basics of good client service and quality work, Marnus Hoek was able to start to grow his business and gradually set up a strong foundation for other ventures. He is also the director of Agriculture Dot Golf, an NPO. Their only goal is to raise as much funds as possible for rural farm safety.
Realising that a 9-5 job with a set routine would not do, Peter Myburg chose to become an entrepreneur. He started Grand Slam Surfacing in 2012. Grand Slam Surfacing believes in marketing and creating safe, fun, and quality sports surfaces. They have been selected as the preferred service provider to get sport facilities revitalised and ready for training in the Western Cape area for the 2023 Netball World Cup.
HNJ De Beer started HNJ Financial Solutions Inc. as a side hustle in 2015. The business is a one-stop shop for all your accounting and tax needs. They see themselves as an outsourced finance department for small businesses. Their remote accounting solutions are on the cutting edge of new technology developments, continuously staying abreast of new enhancements and deployments. Some of the successes they have experienced are being interviewed by Cape Talk and 702 Radio to talk about their success during the COVID pandemic.
With more than 20 years of industry knowledge, Hybrid Collections is a debt collection company that is an extension of their client’s credit department. They adapt their collection strategy around what the client needs and expects. As they work on a no collection no charge policy, there is risk involved in generating profit. In the future, they want to be one of the biggest players in the debt collection industry.
Established in 2010, Lady K Wellness is a manufacturer of indigenous herbal teas, cosmetics, capsules, drops and biscuits for the wellness and diabetic market. Using recipes created and used by her father since 1973. They are proudly a family-run business. Karien Jafta started her business as a side hustle and relied on her corporate income to fund the machines needed in her business. After three years, Lady K’s wellness became financially viable and Karien could leave her corporate job and put all her energy into her company. Lady K Wellness would also like to increase the employee complement by at least 15 more people.
Mabopane Auto Center is a one-stop automotive after-market service centre. They do vehicle services, repairs, tyre fitments, windscreen fitments, motor spares and will soon start to add panel beating and spray painting. Kguagelo Modise had the objective of bringing a world-class facility with professional services into the township. Mabopane Auto Center meets industry standards and is currently accredited by Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI). The two forces that drive her during challenging times are her passion for youth development and building township economies.
In 2016, Christine Mackay founded Macatlas Freight, a 100% female-owned and -operated freight company that provides a wide range of freight and logistics services. When entering the male-dominated freight industry, Christine had to work hard to be taken seriously. Over the years she has gained an excellent network of partners, associates, and clients both locally and internationally, and has formed strong working relationships with them. This year, they are also launching their own brand of fruit and wine for the African and other global markets.
Moody and Smith Digital (Pty) Ltd is a digital agency which aims to help businesses have a solid presence online by implementing the following four core activities: digital marketing, content creation, online community management, and systems optimization. One of the biggest challenges Tumelontle Mokoka has faced is finding his tribe to help cultivate the niche they work in. Through many years of going through his network with a fine-tooth comb, Tumelontle has created the best team to back his dream. in the future, Moody and Smith Digital want to solidify their place in the South African market and become key players in the digital industry.
Otto Communication Systems are in the business of getting people and businesses connected - and keeping them connected. No matter the weather or load-shedding schedule. Established in 2018 by Cheyne Jordan Otto, this passion project designed to pay the rent and groceries has become a successful SME. With the main focus on giving the best customer service in the ICT industry and focusing on solving the customer’s problems so they can be their ICT partner in the long run.
Yonwabeli Cleaning Services was founded in 2013. They specialise in commercial cleaning, hygiene services, pest control, deep cleaning, carpet cleaning, decontamination, and fogging. They are striving to become the powerhouse in the cleaning and trolley management sector. One of Beauty Matiwane’s main struggles was business funding. As she was reliant on your clients to pay her on time, but she occasionally went into arears and struggled to get a bank loan. But she didn’t give up and it paid off. In the future, they want to have offices nationwide and hire 500 more employees.
