Budding entrepreneurs are being invited to put on their thinking caps if they wish to participate in the 2006 SAB KickStart programme.

This initiative aims to encourage and support the entrepreneurial spirit by providing R2,5m in seed capital grants to worthy applicants.

It is open to previously disadvantaged people aged between 18 and 35 who want to start or grow their own businesses.

Up to 120 candidates – between 15 and 20 from five regions – will be selected to join the programme, which includes a two-week business skills training course.

They will then have to prepare a business plan which, if successful, will win them a seed capital grant of between R50 000 and R120 000.

The entrepreneurs will receive intensive mentoring for between four and six months, after which two businesses from each region will be selected for the national finals at which the top performers will win an additional R700 000.

Selection is based on the performance of the businesses, the use of the original grant money, the impact KickStart has had on the business, and the sustainability of the businesses.

To enter the KickStart programme, potential entrepreneurs need to complete entry forms available at SAB’s regional offices in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Pretoria before the competition closes on June 2.

Since 1995, SAB has invested R36-million in the programme.

Vuyelwa Raziya of Vuyie Catering Services in Idutywa won last year’s development category, receiving a R100 000 grant, while Sizwe Nduzulwana of Dini Media Technologies in Port Elizabeth won R75 000 for being placed third in the competition.