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Are you a South African entrepreneur? Here is your chance to win R1 million in prizes

Every contestant gets access to expert mentorship and business training.

March 25, 2025

If you are a South African entrepreneur with a registered business or a sole proprietor, you can win R1 million through Nedbank’s Pitch and Polish competition.

The competition was launched 15 years ago to give businesses in the country a fighting chance.

The bank says the competition has equipped more than 11 000 entrepreneurs with the skills, mentorship and exposure they need to refine their pitches, improve their chances of securing funding and take their businesses to new heights.

How can entrepreneurs enter?

Nedbank says entrepreneurs can submit their entries online at www.pitchandpolish.com until 13 April 2025.

“The most promising candidates will be invited to submit a 90-second video pitch and supporting documents.

What do entrepreneurs stand to win?

The winner will receive R1 million in prizes, including R650 000 in cash and a bursary worth R350 000 for a two-year business development programme with Raizcorp.

The first runner-up will receive R100 000 in cash, while the second runner-up will receive R50 000 to help propel their businesses forward.

“But other entrepreneurs who did not win would have gained a learning experience that can transform the way entrepreneurs think about and grow their businesses.

“Every contestant gets access to expert mentorship and business training,” states Nedbank.

How to avoid burnout

Entrepreneurs are often told that starting and maintaining a sustainable business will require sacrificing a lot of personal time and sleep. However, if not managed carefully, this can cause burnout in the long run.

Joel Andrews, regional investment manager at Business Partners, provided ways for entrepreneurs to avoid burnout during their journey.

“A common misconception is that working long hours and sacrificing personal well-being is necessary for success, but this mindset is dangerous. While hard work is certainly part of the equation, so is avoiding burnout. You need to actively manage your energy to stay in the game.”

He said entrepreneurs need to build a solid support network, learn to delegate effectively, manage time wisely, incorporate wellness practices into their routines, set realistic goals and manage expectations, and seek professional help when needed.

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Florence Duval

Florence Duval is a seasoned strategist with over 25 years of experience leading sustainability, stakeholder engagement and social impact initiatives across public and private sectors. 

As CEO and founder of IN TOUCH, she guides cross-sectoral teams to deliver high-impact advisory solutions that strengthen institutions, enable public-private partnerships and secure both the legal and social licence to operate. Her expertise spans compliance, community development, issue management and sponsorship development – always anchored in sustainable development principles. 

A former mining executive and committed social activist, Florence is known for her ability to build meaningful partnerships, navigate complex regulatory environments and drive transformative impact through purpose-driven leadership

Monique Chinnah

Monique is a curious, serial questioner who wants to take the mystique out of business and finance to make it practical and relevant to entrepreneurs. ‘Why?’, ‘Why not?’ and ‘How can we help, for real?’ are her favourite questions.

She is the Senior Manager of Segment Design and Development in Retail Relationship Banking at Nedbank, and she is responsible for ensuring that small businesses are fully supported through Banking and Beyond® solutions and most particularly as the product owner of the SimplyBiz® platform. Monique believes that keeping business strategy simple, real and practically implementable is fundamental to success. She also believes in the power of fun. If you don’t like what you’re doing, don’t do it!

Monique draws on her own entrepreneurial journeys and extensive management roles in various industries to ensure that solutions are conceptualised and delivered with small-business owners’ needs in mind.

She believes in life-long learning and being a sponge through immersions in over 300 000 businesses, various tertiary and educational programmes, and she is a YouTube and social-media hustler. In 2012 she was awarded a scholarship through Goldman Sachs UK to attend the 10 000 Women entrepreneurial programme through the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and she has been recognised with several Top Achiever Awards in Nedbank.

Allon Raiz

Allon Raiz is regarded both locally and globally as a pioneer and maverick in the business-incubation industry. He is the founder and CEO of Raizcorp which, according to The Economist, is the only genuine incubator in Africa and which currently supports over 500 businesses.

A two-times PhD dropout, Allon is the best-selling author of three entrepreneurial books. He hosted the first national radio show on entrepreneurship in South Africa in 2004; wrote and hosted the first South African prime-time entrepreneurship reality television show; and created and published an entrepreneurial cartoon strip. Allon is currently hosting his 15th season of the popular The Big Small Business Show on Business Day TV.

Allon is a co-founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation South Africa and Rural Roots, and is on the advisory and judging boards of numerous local and international NGOs and entrepreneurial awards. His passion for and focus on the development of entrepreneurs attracted the attention of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which, in 2008, recognised Allon as a Young Global Leader.

As an accomplished international speaker, Allon was invited to speak at the 2011 WEF Annual Meeting held in Davos, Switzerland. In 2011, he became a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Fostering Entrepreneurship, making him one of 15 recognised global experts in the field. More recently, he became a member of the WEF’s Global Future Council.

In 2013, Allon received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Oliver Transformation and Empowerment Awards. The following year, he became the country winner, regional winner and continental winner of the Titan Award for Building Nations.

Between 2014 and 2016, Allon guest lectured at Oxford University where he was recognised as the Oxford University Saïd Business School’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

In 2015, Allon received an invitation from the White House, on behalf of President Barack Obama, to speak at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in Kenya.

Nonkqubela Maliza

Nonkqubela Maliza is the director of Corporate and Government Affairs at Volkswagen Group Africa. She has held the position since 2006 and also chairs the VW Community Trust and VWSA BEE Initiatives Trust. 

Prior to this, Nonkqubela was a senior executive at Metallon Corporation, a pan-African mining and financial services company with operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe. She also served as a chief director at the Department of Trade and Industry and has strong experience in the financial services sector. 

Nonkqubela holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town, a BA Honours in Economics from Rhodes University and a BA in Psychology and Economics from Rhodes University.