After a year-long hiatus, South Africa’s most loved entrepreneurial pitching competition and workshop programme, Engen Pitch & Polish is back! And it’s going to be bigger, better and digital! Once again, the programme is being hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum, Nedbank and Raizcorp.
New format
Building on its previous success, the Engen Pitch & Polish programme will be a fusion of competition, mentoring and learning, with the audience enjoying a dynamic learning experience through the work contestants put into polishing their business pitches. The new digital format will be streamed live on the Pitch & Polish website twice a week for seven weeks. The new format will reach a significantly wider audience than would be possible through the previous format – which consisted of physical events in eight towns and cities per year. No matter where you live in South Africa, as long as you are connected, you can now enter the competition or watch and learn 16 contestants battle it out for the ultimate prize.
Bigger prizes
Over four rounds of competition, 16 contestants will be whittled down to the final two. The overall winner will walk away with prizes to the value of R1m! This prize is split into R650,000 in cash paid out over two years as the winner achieves the business milestones laid out in the winning pitch, and a bursary of R350,000 for a full two-year, high-touch Raizcorp incubation programme. The runner-up will receive R100,000 in cash, and the second runner-up R50,000.
But there’s a twist!
This year’s Engen Pitch & Polish competition will feature a wild card contestant – a loyal member of the digital audience who will be chosen just before the semi-final round. The wild card will go straight through to the final where he or she will compete against the two finalists for the ultimate pitching prize worth R1m!
Audience prizes
Pitch & Polish’s loyal fans who tune in weekly for the livestreamed episodes will be pleased to know that audience members won’t walk away empty handed. By tuning in for every episode, the audience stands to win a large number of amazing prizes throughout the programme, including smartphones, one-on-one mentorship sessions, online entrepreneurial courses, and much more!
Criteria and entries
If you have a registered business and think you have what it takes to go head-to-head with 15 other hungry entrepreneurs, you are invited to enter online at www.pitchandpolish.com from 15 May 2021. Fair warning, competition for the 16 slots will be heavy so be prepared to really put your best foot forward. Entries close on 14 June 2021.
To find out more about the all-new Engen Pitch & Polish programme for 2021, please visit the website at www.pitchandpolish.com.
