Entries into the 2012 Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® competition have officially closed and we are fast approaching the awards breakfast where the overall Entrepreneur of the Year® for 2012 will be crowned. The entry forms and preparation packs submitted by the various entrepreneurs are now on the way to the competition judges who have the difficult task of choosing the category winners from an exceptional group of finalists.

According to Nimo Naidoo, project manager for the 2012 Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, the calibre of entrants and quality of preparation packs received in 2012, which is a combination of all necessary details required in order to assess the entrepreneurs, has improved tremendously in comparison to the 2011 entries.

She says that they have also noticed an increase in entries from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal regions, and received more entries from female entrepreneurs in comparison to 2011.

“The Entrepreneur of the Year® competition has set a benchmark in terms of celebrating entrepreneurial excellence in the country, resulting in encouraging entries from very talented South African entrepreneurs.”

She says that it has been a remarkable six months for the Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® team, who have thus far successfully completed 11 seminars around the country with the assistance of excellent speakers and support from the entrepreneurial community. “All delegates arrived hungry for information and left the various seminars with a vast amount of relevant information that will assist them in their individual capacity.”

Naidoo says that the various social media platforms created around the 2012 competition were a wonderful compliment to the competition and allowed for relaxed communication among competition entrants and seminar delegates. “We received an overwhelming response from the entrepreneurial community via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and will continue to use these communication tools to keep our followers up to date with the 2012 competition and awards ceremony, as well as the launch of the 2013 competition.

The Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® winners will be announced on 6 September 2012 at the official awards breakfast in Johannesburg. “We are very excited to venture into the final stages of the 2012 competition and wish all of the entrants the best of luck,” concludes Naidoo.