The 15th annual Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrations officially kicked-off today from the Presidential SMME Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The awards were hosted by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and its agencies at 22 on Sloane, GEN's startup campus. The awards were also hosted in partnership with the European Union.
In his opening remarks, Ortmans said: "This movement is about the possibility of human endeavor for the benefit of all."
Award winners received cash prizes worth R100 000 and access to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress Africa which will take place on 13 – 14 September 2023 in Cape Town.
“We are incredibly proud to be hosting this celebration of entrepreneurial excellence to showcase entrepreneurial activities through identifying and showcasing innovative stakeholders that are driving economic development and job creations”, says Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, the Minister of Small Business Development.
The awards kicked-off a busy schedule of Global Entrepreneurship Week events across the country, with several taking place at 22 on Sloane.
Kizito Okechukwu, executive head of 22 on Sloane said he is honoured for the campus to host the festivities as it marks a significant milestone.
“It’s been five years since we launched 22 On Sloane and the impact we’ve made has been tremendous” he said. “It’s all thanks to our partners who have been with us on this journey."
Over the past five years, 22 On Sloane has supported more than 1,000 startups through its incubation and accelerator programmes, as well as capacity building and ecosystem collaborations. Over this period, participating startups have generated a cumulative revenue of over R1 billion with over 700 jobs created.
For more information about 22 On Sloane’s GEW activities, visit: https://www.22onsloane.co/global-entrepreneurship-week/.