“The SMEs in our programme have performed admirably over the past year and have changed thousands of lives through job creation and economic contribution to the country,” Black Umbrellas CEO, Seapei Mafoyane, said at the organisation’s recent National Enterprise Development Awards (NEDA) ceremony. The awards recognise the achievements of entrepreneurs in Black Umbrellas’ business incubation programme.
The overall winner as the best performing company was Debar Ceramics. The Lephalale, Limpopo based company offers services in non-ferrous wear-resistant materials to the mining and iron and steel industries among others.
Other category winners included:
Most Jobs Created – Greeco Pty (Ltd)
Best Performing Company – Debar Ceramics
Best BU Ambassador – Nzalo Careers
People’s Choice – Khumalo & Mabuya Chartered Accountants
Incubator of the year – Lephalale Incubator
Keynote speaker at the event, Basani Maluleke, the first Black woman CEO of a bank, African Bank, applauded the SMEs for their resilience and success in a challenging economic climate.