By Kefiloe Kajane
First National Bank Lesotho (FNB) this week announced top 10 winners of the Covid-19 ‘Business Funding’ competition.
The winners walked away with a share of M1-million.
The 10 other participants who did not make it to the finals will be given a three-month training session to further assist their business planning skills.
The competition was in response to the impact that Covid-19 had on local businesses. It was launched in January this year as an initiative to boost small businesses in Lesotho’s economy.
FNB Lesotho chief executive officer Delekazi Mokebe said the bank understood the role played by the small businesses.
She said from the entries, the top 20 finalists were given a full- day mentorship session “which ensured that they were equipped to run and manage their businesses during these tough economic times.”
She said: “We are proud to successfully complete the first businesses competition and would like to thank every business that entered the competition.”
Mokebe added: “Your contribution plays important role in the survival of our economy and we believe that together we can overcome many challenges that we face. Congratulations on being selected as part of the top 10. Let us continue working on rebuilding our economy together.”
While excited at what she called a beginning of a journey, she warned that the resuscitation of the economy was key. She acknowledged that small businesses are essential in ensuring sustainable growth.
The Entrepreneurs Network managing director and judge on the competition Stephen Monyamane strongly encouraged the winners to keep growing their businesses.
He stressed that despite being hard hit by the pandemic, small businesses were still surviving and should strive to do so.
One of the competition winners and owner of local distillers House of Linford Neo Sekhesa thanked FNB Lesotho for the opportunity, noting that starting a business was easy while growing it was the most difficult task.
WINNERS:
