WHY ENTER?

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•  There are no costs to enter.

•  Winning or being nominated for awards serves to strengthen your position against your competitors.

•  Successful businesses like to work with other successful businesses.

•  Recognition at an awards ceremony gives a morale boost to your company’s employees and gives them a focus for their purpose at work.

• Greater brand awareness is created through the highly valuable publicity before the event, through print, email and social media as well as on the night of the awards ceremony.

• Awards help build brand loyalty as customers are keen to support with businesses who are perceived to be doing well. And you’ll inspire others to follow your lead.

• The winners will be presented with a framed certificate and a trophy

CATEGORIES

The Standard Bank KZN Top Business Awards 2024 categories are:

1. Standard Bank Client of the year – SME Category

 Less than R100M turn over per annum, bank with Standard Bank

2. Standard Bank Client of the year – Larger Enterprise

More than R100M turn over per annum, bank with Standard Bank

3. Manufacturing Sector

Broadly defined as the physical or chemical transformation of materials or compounds into new products.

4. Transport/Logistics Sector

Transport as an economic sector refers to activities concerned with land transport, railway transport, water transport, and transport via pipelines, air transport, and activities of travel agencies, post and telecommunications, courier activities, as well as storage and warehousing activities.

5. Franchising Sector

A business that is owned by one or more people who provide products or services under the branding and rules stipulated by a parent company.

6.  Family-Owned/Managed Businesses

Open to businesses where the majority ownership/management remains within a family (or multi-family) structure, and where more than one generation contributes to the success of the business. Businesses entering this award will need to specify the current family members leading the business and their roles Judges will want to know why you’re a stand-out family business and how being a family business has helped you to succeed.

7. Agricultural and Agro-Processing Sector

Incorporates establishments and activities that are primarily engaged in farming activities, but also includes establishments focusing on commercial hunting and game propagation and forestry, logging and fishing. The beneficiation of primary materials and intermediate goods from agricultural, fisheries and forestry-based sectors is included.

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8. Business, Financial and Educational Sector

This sector includes insurance and pension funding; legal; accounting; education and general business activities.   

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9.  Community Upliftment and Improvement  

This award is open to businesses or social enterprises that have made a significant positive impact on the community and region they operate in. This could include: charitable efforts, or developing your local community. The motivation should be to make KZN a better place to live and work.

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10.  Renewable Efficiency – Green initiatives

This category includes renewable energy, low-carbon transport, energy-efficient buildings, clean technologies, improved waste management, improved freshwater provision, etc.

11. Employee Wellness

This award is for businesses that go the extra mile to engage their staff members and what difference this makes to the business. This may be through in-house training, flexible working, personal development, workplace wellbeing activity and teambuilding.

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12.  Partnership  

The winning project will reflect the importance of teamwork and effective inter-agency collaboration.

13. KZN Top Brand 

The top homegrown brand in KwaZulu-Natal is awarded based only on the results of a public poll. In 2024 these results will be managed through a SMS voting system.

14. Business Personality of the Year              

The Standard Bank KZN Top Business Leader’s award is an honorary award given to a businessperson who has demonstrated exemplary business achievement, industry influence and is a true inspiration to others. 

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JUDGING CRITERIA

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•  The company or organisation must have an office in KZN

•  The individual judging criteria differs for each category as specified in the award description.

•  Awards shall be made to such of the entrants who, in the opinion of each panel of judges, are most worthy of the Awards offered, judged against the stated criteria description in each category.

•  The emphasis is on the overall quality of the entry: the merits of the claims in the entry submitted.

• Email entries will be accepted (gayle@mweb.co.za) or online entries.

JUDGING PROCESS

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•  Entries for the Standard Bank KwaZulu-Natal Top Business Portfolio category awards will be reviewed and scored

by the KwaZulu-Natal Top Business editorial board.

•  Finalists will be selected based on the evidence submitted in their entry and on any additional information that

the judging panel may receive.

•  There will usually be three finalists but at the discretion of the judges this number may be reduced or increased.

•  Winners within each category will be selected from the finalists by the judges.

•  If, in the panel of judges' opinion, none of the applications in a category is of sufficient merit, the organisers

reserve the right not to make the award.

•  In the event of a draw in the number of points awarded the prize winners will be selected by means of a

judge’s vote.

•  Brand award is awarded by public voting only

•  No discussion or correspondence will be entered into regarding the decision of the panel of judges.

•  All entry information and scores will be kept in strict confidence.

•  The right to revise these rules is reserved.

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For further information contact gayle@mweb.co.za

Tel 0312671977 or 0836530465

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