The 2013 Pitch and Polish winner is Sizwe Nzima, from Khayelitsha in the Western Cape. Nzima won R40 000 with his business idea for a bicycle courier service for the collection and delivery of chronic medicine.
Out of the 226 online entries received for the competition, 25 entrepreneurs pitched in Round 1 with 15 going through to Round 2. A total of seven contestants pitched at the semi-final, including the winner from the on-air radio Wild Card section, broadcast live by SAfm.
The other two finalists were Felicia Mshololo, who had a construction and renovation business plan, and Justin van der Walt, who pitched his idea for refurbishing computers and e-waste.
The judging panel
One of the three judges, Dave Wright from Engen Petroleum, expressed his belief in the programme by saying, “There are many people who have bright ideas, but they can’t get them across. Pitch & Polish is a fantastic programme because it helps teach people to do just that.”
Ashraf Garda, SAfm presenter and this year’s Wild Card host, and Allon Raiz, CEO of Raizcorp, were also on the judging panel.