Lulalend and CapeTownMagazine say they could not have anticipated the overwhelming interest from across the country when they launched the Small Business Spotlight initiative in August this year.
Of the collaboration, Marcus Zandhuis, founder of CapeTownMagazine had this to say, “Working with Lulalend on this initiative has given us such joy and faith in the future of SMEs in South Africa, we’re proud to collaborate with a business funder responsible for helping small businesses grow.”
Even though the competition was fierce, and the nominees were all deserving of the R100 000 interest-free business loan, there could be only one winner.
“The Small Business Spotlight initiative has shown how much passion there is for SMEs to succeed, as well as highlighting the many ways they positively impact society. We received thousands of nominations from all over South Africa and from all sectors of the economy. Selecting just one SME to receive the R100 000 interest-free loan was incredibly difficult.
“After much deliberation, though, we felt Growing Paper were worthy winners due to an impressive combination of strong business performance and inspirational work helping to uplift the community in which they operate. We hope this prize helps them continue their amazing work,” says Tom Stewart, Marketing Manager of Lulalend.
Growing Paper from Malmesbury is a female-led and proudly South African business that produces 100% recycled and biodegradable paper products that grow into beautiful living herbs, vegetables or flowers when planted.
The Founder of Growing Paper, Roxanne Schumann, said of the win, ‘We are grateful for being nominated as the winner of the interest-free loan from Lulalend.
‘This prize will assist us in our path of growth and gives us the freedom to focus on the important facets of our business, such as serving our clients, environment and livelihoods of our employees.’