The Entrepreneur 2026: applications open for all Garden Route SMEs

BUSINESS NEWS - The kick-off of the George Business Chamber and Airports Company South Africa’s (Acsa) annual business development competition, The Entrepreneur, took place at the Kingswood Golf Estate restaurant this morning. Applications for businesses from over the Garden Route open tomorrow, Friday 29 May.

The deadline for applications is 10 July. Twenty applicants will be selected for the seven-week programme during which participants are challenged not only by a steep learning curve in business management skills, but also in personal growth.

Prof Adele Potgieter, business coach and consultant and associate professor in the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences at the Nelson Mandela University George Campus, said the course covers eight business areas, including self-development, marketing, pricing, product, people and distribution channels as well as finance and budgeting. Soft skills such as presentation skills and how to sell your business as well as digital marketing content are also covered.

Each participant will also have the assistance of a business mentor throughout the process.

“At the end of the course, each businessowner will submit a business plan and each aspect of their business will be outlined for them to build on going forward.”

For the first time, applications will be done online which will grant each applicant entrance to a specific module that will give them a snapshot of their businesses. Potgieter said this will assist the selection panel in the the sifting process to find the 20 participants for 2026.

Prof Adele Potgieter with guests at the launch, from left: De Wet Koen (Sovra) and Rudi Steyn and Rikus Coetzee (Eco-Value).

The sponsors are Acsa, AHi Western Cape, George Herald, Algoa FM, SANParks, Nelson Mandela University, BusinessFit, Adele Potgieter Business Coaching and Consulting and EnvestPro.

Businessowners who want to apply, may send an e-mail to The Entrepreneur project manager, Paul Hoffman, at [email protected].

The criteria to enter for the competition your business:

must be registered and operational for more than one year;
must operate in George or the greater Garden Route region;
must be a South African-owned SME (small and medium enterprise) with an annual turnover of below R6 million.

Stakeholders who attended the launch of The Entrepreneur at Kingswood Golf Estate's restaurant.