ENGEN Pitch & Polish celebrates 10 years
The programme reflects trends with a predominance of businesses and business ideas that respond to the market opportunities of the time.
AN oft-cited statistic in the world of business is that 96 per cent of small businesses will fail within the first 10 years of starting up.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the ENGEN Pitch & Polish workshop and competition programme is proud to fall within the 4 per cent that succeed.
Considered by many to be the grandfather of pitching competitions, ENGEN Pitch & Polish has remained relevant since its inception and, while other pitching competitions come and go, it has stayed the course and is now more popular than ever.
Over the years, the competition has witnessed a range of business trends; one year saw a predominance of agri-processing ideas and businesses, another was strongly related to green technologies, while a third year saw a focus on youth.
The programme reflects trends with a predominance of businesses and business ideas that respond to the market opportunities of the time.
The success of the Pitch & Polish format can be attributed to the huge value it offers its audiences (or workshop delegates).
There is a strong focus on audience learning and participation. In fact, around 40 per cent of workshop delegates are people who return year after year and bring along family and friends when they return to the next year’s event.
The opportunity for participants to network with one another is also a draw card, as is the all-important wild-card entrant to the competition (an entrepreneur who is picked on the day by the facilitator and audience members).
A further attraction is that it is not just the major centres which receive all the focus. Since it began sponsoring the programme, Engen has taken Pitch & Polish to many smaller towns across the country which often tend to be overlooked by major events.
A Pitch & Polish crew of 20 people puts together a high-end production for each leg of the event, making use of the best sound, visual and other equipment available.
Since inception, the programme has received wonderful support from both local and national media – in particular, Caxton, SAfm and a range of local newspapers. The media has played an essential role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and the organisers are deeply grateful to these organisations for getting out the word and, more importantly, sharing the success stories of the project’s regional winners and finalists giving them further opportunities for exposure and business growth.
The Pitch & Polish programme – the brainchild of top incubator Raizcorp – would not have seen the success it has were it not for its loyal sponsors, ENGEN and Nedbank. Allon Raiz, founder and CEO of Raizcorp and the brains behind the concept, said, “Both ENGEN and Nedbank provide judging teams as part of their sponsorships. Their judges are as passionate and engaged as Raizcorp is, and they come back year after year. At this point they almost feel like members of the crew.”
“The rate of urbanisation and population growth in South Africa increases the level of unemployment, poverty and despair for the majority of poor South Africans. This situation presents a potential crisis if we do not get the fundamentals right, including education and growing an entrepreneurial culture.
“The programme does just that … entrepreneurial education for thousands of South Africans – boosting business-modelling skills, shaping business ideas into bankable business propositions and increasing the confidence of the emerging entrepreneurs who choose to participate and learn through this amazing interactive programme,” said Unathi Njokweni-Magida, head of the transformation for ENGEN Petroleum.
Alan Shannon, Nedbank head of client engagement: professional banking and small business, said, “Nedbank is proud of our decade-long relationship with Raizcorp and being a co-sponsor of this inspiring event since 2016. Unlocking the potential of the SME sector is key to economic growth and job creation in South Africa. Pitch & Polish is a great platform that allows participants to refine their skills.”
This year will see the event hosted in eight towns and cities across the country. It started in Johannesburg on July 6 and will end in Burgersfort on August 24 with the semi-finals and final taking place in Johannesburg.
Details on registering for the workshop and entering the competition are available on the website at www.pitchandpolish.com. Everyone is invited.
For more information, visit www.pitchandpolish.com
