Grant Thornton Private Business Growth Awards celebrate local business with great success

• Unprecedented number of entries for annual Growth Awards platform this year

• Growth Awards penetrate all 10 Districts of Botswana

• Alpha Direct named winner in Medium Enterprise Category

• Motovac named winner in Large Enterprise Category 

Gaborone – The 5^th edition of the Grant Thornton Private Business Growth Awards were hosted to great success on Wednesday the 07^th of August 2019 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,  Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame, “The objective of these awards aligns with the mandate of the Ministry which is to create a conducive environment for investment formation and development of sustainable industries in Botswana by facilitating the ease of doing business and enabling international trade. We do this with a view to diversify and grow the economy of Botswana, ensuring prosperity for all by creating wealth, and sustainable employment. I invite private sector to form partnerships such as that between Grant Thornton, BITC and Business Botswana, and develop initiatives such as the Private Business Growth Awards that support the country’s vision.”

Top 3 finalists (in no particular order), and the winners in the various categories were as follows:

Medium Enterprise Alpha Direct WINNER Security Services The REWA group	Large Enterprise Chloride Exide Botswana Motovac WINNER Northern Textile Mills
Investor of the Year - Manufacturing Flo-Tek Pipes & Irrigation Bokomo Botswana WINNER Northern Textiles Mills	Investor of the Year - Services Easimail GetBucks Leseding Interiors WINNER
Investor of the Year - Expansions Bokomo Botswana Chloride Exide Botswana WINNER Northern Textile Mills	Exporter of the Year Chloride Exide Botswana Flo-Tek Pipes & Irrigation AliBoats WINNER
Women Owned Business & Pride Mark User (new award category introduced in 2019) AH Designs Chabana Farms WINNER Sweet Sensations

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. What we believe our winners, finalists have received is the benefit of self-realization, of how well they have done, recognition, and the pride of being winners. Their reach across organizations and the country surely reaps benefit for the quality they deliver and the recognition they have got. The list of participants in today’s event just proves the calibre of private businesses, 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 5 years ago and remains the impetus which drives this growing platform today.”

All submissions were assessed by a panel of internal and external judges as per the following criteria: Innovation, Market Development, People and culture, and Strategic leadership, as well as Financial measures and operational information. This year saw a record 675% growth in the submissions received, as compared to 2015 when the awards started, 116 submissions from 30 locations across all 10 Districts of Botswana competed for the coveted title this year.

Concluded Kalyanaraman Vijay, “We thank our associates, Business Botswana and BITC, for their continued support, and we congratulate all the beacons of excellence heralded on the night! Let us continue to ‘Celebrate Sustainability’, and to drive truly sustainable business practices and growth in and beyond our country.”