African Petrochemicals July/ Aug Edition 15_4 {2018}

ENGEN PITCH & POLISH CONTINUES TO ADVANCE ENTREPRENEURS
Engen believes that entrepreneurship
and an entrepreneurial culture are crucial
to South Africa’s sustainable economic
and social development. This is why the
petroleum giant is again a proud partner
and the headline sponsor of the 2018 Engen
Pitch & Polish, powered by Raizcorp.
Unathi Njokweni-Magida, Engen
Transformation & Stakeholder
Engagement Manager,
Bruce Diale, 2017 Pitch & Polish
winner, Kholekile Dlakiya, Engen
Transformation Manager .
It is the ninth year that Engen has sponsored Engen Pitch & Polish, the annual entrepreneurial
competition and workshop that is designed to give members of local community’s access to
expert guidance and input on how to polish their business pitches.
“Engen believes that growing and nurturing business skills for emerging entrepreneurs in
South Africa will boost employment, improve education levels and help alleviate poverty,” says
Unathi Magida-Njokweni, Transformation and Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Engen.
“To accomplish this, we are proud to step up and support these future business leaders, to help
propel them forward so that they are able to create jobs in the future.”
Since inception its nine years ago, over 10 000 budding entrepreneurs have participated in
Engen Pitch & Polish.
“In this time, all the participants have had their business ideas brainstormed and tested and
been taught valuable business lessons and tools in order to help improve the way they pitch
their business to potential investors,” adds Magida-Njokweni.
Engen Pitch & Polish is a national workshop and competition where participants get to spend a
day in a fun-filled learning environment while receiving expert guidance on how to pitch their
business ideas effectively.
The 2018 workshops will be conducted by
international speaker and facilitator, Justin
Cohen, a world leading expert on pitching for
business.
The workshops are FREE and open to anyone
who wants to spend a great day learning.
“Engen Pitch & Polish has changed thousands
of lives over the years and we continue to
measure the change by staying in touch with
contestants and monitoring their ongoing
progress,” says Magida-Njokweni.
“Since Engen first partnered with Raizcorp on
Pitch & Polish, all my expectations have been
exceeded, from the quality of the contestants
to the interest of the audience, as well as the
professionalism of the judges. As the headline
sponsor, Engen could not ask for more.”
This year regional events will be held at eight venues across South Africa, between August and October. The full schedule is as follows:
Town/City Date Time Venue
Cape Town Sat, 04 Aug 09:00am CAB Conference Centre, 19 Jeanette Street, Brackenfell
Bloemfontein Sat, 25 Aug 09:00am President Hotel, 1 Union Avenue, Bloemfontein
Newcastle Sat, 01 Sep 09:00am The Pines Conference Centre, 52 Aquamarine Road, Newcastle
Durban Sat, 08 Sep 09:00am Olive Convention Centre, 81 Somtseu Road, Durban
Grahamstown Sat, 15 Sep 09:00am City Hall, High Street, Grahamstown
Emalahleni Sat, 29 Sep 09:00am Portuguese Hall, 95 Nita Avenue, eMalahleni
Nelspruit Sat, 06 Oct 09:00am Arena @ Emnotweni, Government Boulevard, Nelspruit
Johannesburg Sat, 13 Oct 09:00am CedarWoods, 120 Western Service Road, Woodmead
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