The Creative Counsel wins Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the YearThe Creative Counsel, owned and founded by Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner, has won the 2015 Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year. EOYA winners: Back row, from left: Nadir Khamissa (Hello Group), Ncamisile Maphumulo (Coastal Nephrology Centre), Bryan Anderson (Delta Steam Systems), Kim Whitaker (Once in Cape Town), Ahmed Shaazim Khamissa (Hello Group) and Lewis Thomas (Partners Hair Design)Front row, from left: Ran Neu-Ner and Gil Oved, founders and owners of The Creative Counsel (TCC) Spokesperson for the competition, Christo Botes, said that the judging process was extremely challenging this year, with judges having to select winners for the seven categories from 15 deserving finalists that were selected to advance to the final round of judging. Botes says that Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner of TCC were selected as the overall winners because of the phenomenal success which the business has achieved in its 14 years of operation. "Founded in 2001, as a two-man agency, TCC is today the largest advertising group in South Africa by staff and turnover, with a targeted presence in Africa and plans to expand further into emerging markets." He says that TCC has also perfected the process of job creation - a trait inherent in entrepreneurs and a key reason why the competition seeks to discover and unmask South Africa's economic heroes and celebrate the role they play in society. "The agency is one of South Africa's largest private first-time employers, in that the business employs untrained candidates and then focuses on up-skilling these individuals and equipping them with experience for their future careers." Other 2015 category winners
Botes says that the judges believe that Maphumulo's business needed special recognition for the social impact it is making. Maphumulo decided to start her business to provide much needed healthcare solutions to the patients that were left stranded by the closure of the health company she worked for in the community. "Maphumulo recognised the need in the community and used her competence to render a much needed service," says Botes. The competition provided prizes worth R2 million, with the overall winner receiving a cash prize of R100,000 and the other category winners receiving R50,000 each. Each winner will also receive valuable mentorship support, networking opportunities and associated marketing and national media exposure to drive their business' success further. Past winners have also gone on to win other prominent national and international awards and form valuable partnerships because of their success in the competition. |