15 Nov 2019 Food entrepreneurs feature in EY awards
Southern Africa’s top three entrepreneurs were named at the 22nd Annual EY World Entrepreneur Awards gala dinner in Johannesburg on Wednesday 13 November 2019 – with two involved in food.
CEO’s, founders, and leading entrepreneurs attended the Southern Africa programme of the world’s most prestigious business awards for entrepreneurs: the Global EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Annual national and regional awards programmes are run in more than 145 cities across 60 countries culminating in the grand, global awards final in Monte Carlo to recognise the world’s top entrepreneurs.
Finalists are selected amongst entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as entrepreneurial spirit, value creation, strategic direction, impact, innovation and purpose-driven leadership.
The winners of the 22nd annual EY World Entrepreneur Awards prove that entrepreneurship is the only real solution to reduce chronic unemployment in South Africa – and that a lack of education and training is not necessarily a hindrance.
This year’s thirteen finalists have generated some R30bn in revenue and have created 13,000 jobs between them.
Speaking at the awards ceremony today at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg, Azim Omar, EY Africa Growth Markets Leader, said: “South Africa has a severe jobs crisis. The only way to help create jobs is through encouraging greater entrepreneurship and learning from people who have been successful despite a stagnant economy and difficult circumstances.
“Fortunately South Africa has so many brilliant entrepreneurs and we are reminded of that every year. They have taken to the challenge and through disruptive innovation, are succeeding where government, and even some larger businesses, have fallen short.”
Omar noted that what he found most interesting about the award winners is that many disprove the notion that people can only get jobs once they have some sort of training or education. “That’s plain wrong. Teaching people transferable skills on the job is a common thread that runs though many of our finalists.”
Master category – for a profitable business with turnover of $100m (R1.5bn) or more:
Craig Irvine: Managing Director, Irvine’s Group
Irvine’s is a poultry focused company with operations in six countries. They supply nutritional, animal health, Cobb Genetics and supporting products across 22 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In June 2020, as Master category winner, Craig will go on to join the finalists from over 60 countries in Monte Carlo to compete for the title of 2020 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. [He is pictured with Azim Omar above].
You can read more about this remarkable company in this profile article… Click here!
Comments Alec Hogg of BizNews.com: “Last night, EY named Maritzburg University graduate, Craig Irvine, as the entrepreneur who will carry SA’s flag during the final in Monaco next year. The Johannesburg-based head of poultry group, Irvine’s Africa, is the third generation leader of the family business. It has deep roots in Zimbabwe where Craig’s father runs the company’s primary breeding operation.
“Irvine’s victory is testament to out-of-the-box thinking all successful entrepreneurs require – especially those who operate in tough geographies. Although it does deliver chicken meat into Zim and neighbouring countries, the company’s biggest line is millions of day-old chickens sold to 16,000 fellow entrepreneurs in 20 African countries.
“Irvine describes his customers as “the real entrepreneurs… they beat the odds every day, overcoming power cuts, no access to capital and a generally hostile environment to grow the chicks into saleable birds.”
Another example of abundant entrepreneurial spirit embedded in Africa. As the world will surely witness when dogmatic politicians eventually get out of the way and allow the continent’s latent human potential to be unleashed.”
Emerging category- for a profitable business with a turnover of $5m (R75m) or more:
Ashraf Mohamed: Founder, Polar Ice Cream Company
Polar Ice Cream, with factories in Cape Town and Jo’burg, produces the ‘ultimate happiness product’, a wide range of quality ice cream and frozen delights.
Polar believes that ice cream must reach the mass markets with products that are affordable but, more importantly, enjoyable.
Some insights into this diverse entrepreneur, but published in 2010… Click here!