Small business wins big

For the third year running‚ Pastel sponsored the Small Business Awards with radio stations 702 and Cape Talk. In addition to their outstanding execution‚ this year’s winners displayed true entrepreneurial spirit mixed with creative strength‚ energy and passion.

City of golden ideas

Malerato Molobi‚ the owner of Molobi Enterprises is this year’s Johannesburg winner. She distributes refreshments‚ snacks and beverages to spazas‚ taverns, restaurants‚ hawkers‚ garages‚ private sector companies and government departments in and around Soweto.

It all started with her selling sweets and snacks from her parent’s house with a capital investment of R700 which she accumulated through 1c‚ 2c and 5c pieces. She now has a distribution warehouse in Roodepoort and is one of the biggest players in this market.

Malerato isn’t only business savvy‚ she is also committed to growing other entrepreneurs in her community. While encouraging local women to start their own businesses Malerato provides the support structure they need to get their own business up and running. These women tend to start from small stands on street corners but don’t stop innovating until they own their shops and caravans.

“There were many things about Molobi Enterprises that impressed the judges‚ but top of the list was Malerato’s sheer dominance in the market‚” said Pheladi Gwangwa, Talk Radio 702 station manager and one of the judges on the panel that decided the winners.

The two runners up in Joburg were Vee’s Airline Catering and Arwen Garmentry.

Cape Town bells and whistles

Cape Town presented really good quality finalists according to Steven Cohen, managing director of Pastel Accounting. “In addition to their outstanding execution, I am really impressed by all the finalists’ commitment to giving something back to the communities in which they operate‚” he said.

But the entrepreneurs that took the cake on the day were home were the Aleit Group; events specialists that define the South African wedding and events industry. Based in Stellenbosch, they cater for clients throughout the world. They have been described as world-renowned trendsetters that offer impeccably efficient service and guaranteed stress-free events‚ filled with whatever their clients’ heart’s desire.

The Aleit Group is a super-efficient business that started from nothing but now trades with good cash flow and no debt at all. In addition to their excellent business skills‚ Aleit Group attracts tourism to the region as foreigners are drawn to South Africa as a wedding destination and they are actively involved in skills transfer and have set up an academy in Stellenbosch to train local people in events-related skills.

The two Cape Town runners up were Khayelitsha Cookies and NoMU food specialists.

What they win

All six finalists have won airtime advertising packages on either Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk as well as business software from Pastel.