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Old Mutual announces new competition for family business
Family businesses around the country are invited to participate in a new competition that will become an important annual event on the local business calendar. The competition is sponsored by Old Mutual, and forms part of their offering to FABASA (Family Business Association of Southern Africa), as their main sponsor and founder member.
FABASA’s chairperson, Fanie van der Merwe, expects the competition to heighten awareness of the organisation and its objectives while rewarding those family businesses that meet the competition’s exacting criteria.
“Family businesses the world over are vitally important in their respective economies and wherever possible should be recognised and rewarded for their significant contribution.”
Says Andre Diederichs, family business expert at Old Mutual and main sponsor for FABASA: “Old Mutual is both proud and excited to launch this competition and would like to encourage all family businesses to participate. By participating business owners will have an opportunity to review the key challenges within their businesses as well as areas that may need increased attention.
The competition will consist of two categories, namely an open category for family businesses with more than 200 staff; and a small business category for family businesses with less than 200 staff.
The winner in each category will receive prize money of R25 000 as well as free media publicity on KykNet Ontbytsake as well as in Succeed Magazine.
The competition is only open to family businesses, which is defined as a business that employs family members other than a spouse. The competition will be adjudicated by two family business experts, Prof Elmarie Venter from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth and Madeleine Britz, senior legal adviser at Old Mutual.
Participating family businesses will be evaluated on a number of issues including succession planning and legal structures. The closing date for the competition is 31 August 2010.
The winners will be announced by end September and together with their spouses, will be flown to the AHI’s annual banquet on 14 October in Vanderbijlpark where they will be awarded their prizes.
Says Van der Merwe: “With this competition, it is the intention of FABASA’s executive council to stimulate interest in family business affairs and encourage business owners to get their house in order. In turn, we hope to grow the membership of FABASA to an organisation similar in stature to its overseas counterparts.”
Welcome to the FABASA website
The Family Business Association of Southern Africa (FABASA) is a non-profit organisation that has been established to act as the official mouthpiece of family-owned business in Southern Africa as well as to promote the overall interests of this economic sector.
First of its kind on African soil, FABASA plays a crucial role in educating and streamlining the needs of this significant contributor to economies on the sub-continent taking into consideraton that some 80% of all businesses in South Africa belong to families.
Sponsor and founding member of FABASA, Old Mutual believes that the organisation fills a much-needed void in empowering family-owned business.
Amongst other issues, FABASA’s mandate includes assisting family-owned business with corporate governance and best practices, as well as guidance with succession planning, the importance of which cannot be over estimated, given that a staggering 70% of all first generation family-owned businesses fail in their efforts to hand over to the second generation.
