A group of nervous business owners made their way through traffic towards the Cape Town Waterfront this morning in anticipation of impressing a panel of judges. This select group of just 61 had been selected from over 1500 entries as finalists in this years SMME Business Launch Pad competition. They all gathered for coffee and registration at the Graduate School of Business and waited for their slot to present their business plans and dreams to us.

Our jobs as judges was to understand, evaluate and then score each person based on a preset list of criteria resulting in just two in each of the 10 categories going through as winners. This proved not to be so easy as each of our candidates in the Construction sector presented with passion and determination that enthused us all. By the end of the day we had to select our top two winners and hand the results in for adjudication.

What I loved about the day was the passion of people as we saw them transform from nerves to excitement allowing their dreams to ooze from their sentences and glint in their eyes. Our country has such huge potential for entrepreneurship and identified gaps yet taken, I can only hope that all those who entered take the next step to greatness and leap willingly into their futures allowing their dreams to carry them to new beginnings and a future invested in the people and economy of our country.

Winners will be announced on Monday 14^th.