2019 Business Plan Competition – Annexure A Rules

2019 Business Plan Competition For Young Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Annexure A - Competition Rules

1. The competition is open to aspiring young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35, not yet established in an operating business.

2. Only one entry per individual will be considered.

3. Qualifying entrants will be invited to attend a full day workshop in selected areas. The workshop will include topics such as:

• Creating an effective business plan;

• Compiling a marketing plan;

• Managing your financial resources;

• The importance of networking; and more.

4. To qualify for Phases 2 and 3, workshop participants will be asked to submit a business plan, based on the workshop training.

5. Regional winners are selected based on the quality of the business plan, potential of the business to be viable, and entrepreneurial aptitude. They will be announced at award events in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban, as well as Bloemfontein, Polokwane, East London and Port Elizabeth, should the number of quality entries justify award events in these areas.

6. Regional winners are automatically entered as finalists in the national awards event held during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November in Johannesburg.

7. Submissions must be completed in full, to be accepted.

8. The concept/idea must be the entrant’s own and original idea. Copying material, intellectual property or information from an external party or source will be considered plagiarism and the entrant will be disqualified. Disqualified entrants will forfeit any prizes awarded to them.

9. Ownership of any Intellectual Property contained in the entry forms and/or business plans will vest with the competitors. No information will be used by the organisers and sponsors outside the ambit of this specific competition.

10. Prizes are subject to change without warning.

11. National finalists will be interviewed telephonically by a panel of judges – date and time to be confirmed.

12. The organisers and sponsors of this competition reserve the right to exercise their sole discretion to alter, amend and/or supplement these competition rules at any time, or to cancel, terminate or suspend the competition at any time. Any such changes will be communicated through the publication thereof on the SME Toolkit South Africa’s website: https://smetoolkit.businesspartners.co.za.

13. The decision of the judges is final and may not be disputed.

14. Participants agree to possibly be featured in photos, audio recordings, video material, promotions, publicity or news stories as part of the competition, without monetary compensation.

15. The closing date for the first phase entries to be submitted is 23:00 pm on Wednesday 31 July 2019; and business plans (phase 2) must be submitted by 27 September 2019.

Select one of the following ways to submit the entry forms:

Enter online : HERE

E-mail to : smetoolkit@businesspartners.co.za

Fax to: 011 713 6650 Attention: Business Plan Competition – SME Toolkit

Deliver to: Any Business Partners office country-wide. Clearly mark envelope “SME Toolkit Business Plan competition – Attention: B Maja (Corporate Services)"

Note: BUSINESS/PARTNERS and the SME Toolkit cannot accept responsibility for lost, delayed, misdirected or undelivered entries. Incomplete and/or illegible entries will be disqualified. The organisers shall not be held responsible for technical errors in telecommunication networks, Internet access or otherwise preventing entries to the competition.

To view this document offline, download the 2019 Business Plan Competition Annexure A – Competition Rules.