The 4th edition of the Grant Thornton Private Business Growth Awards were hosted to great success on Wednesday the 31st of October 2018 in Gaborone. The Awards, which seek to recognise privately-held businesses that approach growth from a strategic and holistic perspective, were hosted as part of the Global Expo and in association with Business Botswana and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).
Said keynote speaker, Botswana’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Honourable Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, “As important as it is to drive the ease of doing business in Botswana, it is equally important to recognise private sector organisations that have made a positive impact on the country’s economy well beyond the bottom line. It is with this mandate that BITC associated themselves with Grant Thornton, who conceptualized the Private Business Growth Awards in 2015, as a means of showcasing private sector success stories in Botswana.”
Winners on the night included
- Medium Enterprise Category: Brastorne Enterprises
- Large Enterprise Category: Mr. Veg
- Founder’s Award for excelling in a particular category of consideration: Chloride Exide
The Awards also included, for the second consecutive year, 4 special categories sponsored and driven by BITC as follows:
- Investor of the Year Award – Manufacturing Sector: Bokomo Botswana
- Investor of the Year Award – Services Sector: Mont Catering and Refrigeration
- Investor of the Year Award – Expansions: Chloride Exide
- Exporter of the Year: Nortex
Said Kalyanaraman Vijay, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton: “As Grant Thornton Botswana, we are exceptionally pleased for both our big winners, as well as the incredible finalists on the night. It is indeed a privilege to be included in such great company of excellence. What we believe our finalists and in fact all who submitted this year and in previous years, must recognise is the calibre of private businesses and holistic as well as strategic growth that local businesses are capable of, and which we need to aspire to further. This was the premise for the introduction of these awards 4 years ago and remains the impetus which drives this growing platform today.”
All submissions were assessed by a panel of internal and external judges per the following criteria: Innovation, Market Development, People and culture, and Strategic leadership, as well as Financial measures and operational information. The rigorous assessment process was carefully audited by Grant Thornton.
Concluded Kalyanaraman Vijay, “We thank our partners, Business Botswana and BITC, for their continued support, and we congratulate all the beacons of excellence heralded on the night! Let us continue to Create Impact, and to drive truly sustainable business growth in and beyond our country’s borders.”