Nine (9) SMMEs will be competing for R1 million prize worth of productive equipment during the third and the final leg of the Agro-processing Pitching Programme. The programme started in June 2018 and have already awarded 7 winners which collectively received prizes to the value of R2 million.
The programme is an incentive scheme established by department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) to support SMMEs in agro-processing with the intention to broaden participation in this sector by awarding productive equipment to entrepreneurs who are or who want to venture into agro-processing.
The contestants will pitch to a panel of judges constituting of department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Land Bank, University of the Free State (UFS), Free State Development Corporation (FDC) and DESTEA. At the end of the pitching session from the eight contestants, three winners will be announced and receive productive equipment to the worth of R450 000, R350 000 and R200 000 respectively.
The decision of the judges in choosing the winners will be based amongst others on the sustainability of the business, job creation, the uniqueness of the business or product as well as the market for the product. DESTEA’s Small Business Support Programme further ensures that entrepreneurs are skilled in different disciplines like book keeping, pricing and stockholding.
The details of the event are as follows:
Date: 14 March 2019
Venue: Igym Building (CUT)
Time: 9h00
For more details contact:
Lebogang Maloale
Tel: 051 400 9631
Email: malaoelel@destea.gov.za
