A new reality television series will see one entrepreneur walk away with R1 million in prize money to help them grow their business.
This, while thousands more business owners across the country stand to gain free business advice by tuning into the show, the “Think Big Challenge”, which first aired last month on SABC3
The show, sponsored by Standard Bank, follows 12 successful entrepreneurs from different industries across the country as they strive to reach their desired business goals. Each Thursday at 9:30 pm viewers are introduced to different entrepreneurs, their unique business goals and how they, as business owners, step-up and find innovative ways to overcome obstacles.
The challenge for a R1 million investment prize is a revamp of Standard Bank’s “The Business Coach” series, a similar production, but which was aimed solely at small business owners.
Ravi Govender, head of small enterprise at Standard Bank, says “Think Big – Building Business Champions”, will now feature both big and small businesses and viewers will benefit from watching the programme.
“It promotes growth in existing businesses and encourages entrepreneurship without glossing over the challenging realities that entrepreneurs face on a day-to-day basis,” he says.
The show, part of the bank’s Biz Connect initiative, is produced by local television production company Bombshell and targets business owners across the country.
For 10 weeks the hosts, business analyst Derek Thomas, chief executive of Letsema Holdings, and entrepreneur Nobuntu Webster of Ayano Communications, visit the owners at their business premises where they give each one a task to complete in one day.
But, instead of just helping them spot problems in their companies, Thomas and Webster encourage the entrepreneurs to improve.At the end of each episode a contestant is assessed assessed on their progress before receiving expert advice from a judging panel comprising of experienced business people.
In the main, contestants will be tested on their abilities to “think big” in managing their businesses.