Win sees entrepreneur secure R230 000 funding and business support
Small business owner Zukiswa Mhlongo’s ZM Events was named overall winner of the 2024 Eagles Business Awards, which took place at the end of last year at Wild Coast Sun.
ZM Events was nominated alongside other local businesses in the Deco category, and its excellence in the field earned it the prestigious “Best Business for 2024” award. Mhlongo received a prize of R200 000 sponsored by Wild Coast Sun and a R30 000 voucher from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA).
The annual event supports local enterprises, offering healthy competition and exposure to new opportunities to a broad scope of categories ensuring that all entrepreneurs are motivated.
“I am extremely thankful to Wild Coast Sun and SEDA for this boost to my business and look forward to growth within the Enterprise Development Programme,” Mhlongo said.
The Eagles Business Awards is the result of an ongoing partnership between Wild Coast Sun and SEDA to drive the Enterprise Development programme, which supports local businesses in the communities surrounding Sun International’s only beachfront resort.
ZM Events caters to both domestic and corporate events in the Eastern Cape and the southern KwaZulu-Natal region, and was started four years ago with four staff members and has grown to 12.
“Zukiswa’s win opens doors for her to participate in Wild Coast Sun’s Enterprise Development programme, which includes mentoring and workshops aimed at developing local entrepreneurs,” said Wild Coast Sun General Manager Henry Boekhouer. “The programme will help her grow ZM Events by exposing her to the operations of our 4-star graded resort, which has extremely high standards as we seek to ensure our guests love every moment of their stay.”
Wild Coast Sun’s commitment to empowering the surrounding communities is part of a broader initiative with the uMgungundlovu Communal Property Association, which owns the land on which it is situated. “As a responsible corporate, Wild Coast Sun has a responsibility to uplift local businesses. One way that we do this is by developing them until they are able to be included in the resort’s procurement system, providing them with access to new markets and opportunities.”
