SME South Africa shines in Silver at the New Gen Awards

Karabo Kgophane and Maryna Steyn from SME South Africa accepting the silver new gen award for best online magazine

This award recognises the distinguished approach to editorial content that helps to develop an engaging digital experience. One that promotes community stakeholder engagement, with excellent use of resources to drive positive community impact through active citizenship.

“We are incredibly proud of the entire team and their contributions to making the SME South Africa platform an award-winning online magazine,” says Velly Bosega, CEO of SME South Africa. “This achievement is not only a benchmark for online magazines in South Africa and the impact they have on their communities, but is also a celebration of the hard work that every team member has put into making this vision a reality.”

The team behind SME South Africa

A platform worth celebrating

Accepting the award were Maryna Steyn, Editor at SME South Africa, and Karabo Kgophane, community manager for SME South Africa.

“Our content addresses important concerns such as compliance, access to funding, business tools, business ideas, and operational guidance. New editorial content is published daily to ensure readers have the latest information at their fingertips,” Steyn explains. “We’ve recently added a new column to our online magazine: the Founder Focus column. This shares insightful tips from successful founders in response to our audience’s demand for inspiring stories and actionable advice from industry experts.”

She explains that the platform prioritises placing the reader at the centre of their world. “SME South Africa has developed tools that complement its main concept. Among these features is SME Advice, a unique one-on-one consultation platform that connects entrepreneurs with experts from various industries,” Steyn elaborates.

“As we strive to develop an engaging digital experience that promotes community stakeholder engagement, we host virtual workshops in the form of webinars. These sessions focus on actionable advice that is informative and builds resilience amongst SMEs.

By publishing actionable guides like “How to Use WhatsApp for Small Businesses” and “How to Build Investor Trust When You Have No Track Record”, SME South Africa helps SMEs understand and improve their operations, marketing, client interactions and funding readiness.

Additionally, SME South Africa has provided SMEs with access to funding by acting as an intermediary that connects small businesses with funders. Some of the funding options available are working capital loans, asset finance, purchase order funding, bridging finance, inventory finance and unsecured business loans.

“Our new funding calculator visually demonstrates to applicants what their first and total repayments will be.”

Emphasis on impact

Speaking about the valuable impact that SME South Africa has in the business landscape of South Africa, Bosega noted that the vision for the publication was born from the challenges he experienced first-hand. “In my own entrepreneurial journey, I quickly realised how important it is for entrepreneurs to have access to information to help them start, manage and grow their businesses, without needing to jump between webpages. This is why we say we are a one-stop shop for SMEs: Because we have everything from information about registering a company, space to apply for funding or even access to mentorship, where you need specialised advice.

It was created to support and empower entrepreneurs with information, ultimately enabling them to succeed in starting their own businesses. It also aims to support businesses beyond this initial start-up phase, helping them to become established entrepreneurs and grow,” he concludes.