2022 marks the return of the Informal Business Person of the Year competition, a nationwide campaign to provide much-needed awareness to the informal economy sector and to acknowledge and celebrate the valuable contributions of informal business owners. It will provide the participants a platform to showcase the skills, ideas, and products to a wider network of people, spark further innovation and provide support that will lead to future expansion. IEDF, a registered non-profit company promotes the development and advancement of the South African informal economy, ensuring that its members are recognised as role players in the South African economy.
The competition also aims to promote and highlight the role that the informal economy play in the economic development of the continent; to bring together governments, development institutions, investors, academics and private sector institutions with interest in the informal economy; to discuss best practices in the informal economy; to bring big business and the informal economy together under one roof, and to build the informal economy one business at a time. The IEDF hopes that this competition will stimulate the informal economy and help informal businesses navigate their way through the numerous obstacles they have to overcome.
The Business Person of the Year competition is an extensive campaign which will culminate with the announcement of the winner in November 2022. There will be different rounds to the competition, with competitors moving forward to the next round on successful completion of the task set in each. Training and development opportunities will be made available throughout the competition and participants will be given access to various support systems to help expand their business’ reach. Entrants will stand a chance to win awards catered to their specific products or services across the following categories:
Women
Youth
Food nutrition
Retail
Agriculture
Arts & Culture
Health & Wellness
Clothing & Textile
Services
Manufacturing
To enter, informal business owners are encouraged to visit our website at www.iedf.org.za, complete the online registration form and pay the R150 registration fee. To enquire about the competition, they are encouraged to call/Whatsapp Rochelle on 083 795 0535 and alternatively email at rochelle@iedf.org.za. For the latest updates they can visit our social media accounts: Facebook page – Informal Economy Development Forum, Instagram – . Furthermore, the IEDF app is available for download on the Google Play and the App Store. Entries to be submitted before the competition closes on 30 June 2022.