MotiMoves, the free online business mentorship programme making waves across South Africa, has announced the second winners of its prestigious monthly competition: brothers Douglas and George Smith.
The dynamic brothers have secured a generous investment and secured a partnership, a month’s use of a Porsche 911 to set their groundbreaking business into motion, R50,000 to use towards their business as well as a two-hour personal mentorship session with renowned business maverick and billionaire Zunaid Moti.
Launched and managed by renowned business leader and billionaire Zunaid Moti, MotiMoves is dedicated to empowering aspiring entrepreneurs with practical business information. In addition to providing expert business mentorship and advice through an ongoing monthly webinar series, MotiMoves runs a monthly competition for entrepreneurs to submit their business proposals for potential funding.
The monthly MotiMoves competition focuses on identifying the best business proposals for investment and development. Launched in May, it has already drawn entries from hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, each vying for the opportunity to showcase their ingenuity, secure a life-changing investment into their business, and receive the expert guidance of one of South Africa’s most successful businesspeople.
Originally from Johannesburg, the Smith brothers hail from three generations of entrepreneurs who have successfully run and managed their own plastics and packaging business since 1974. Born with the entrepreneurial flame and drive to achieve, the brothers submitted their plan after George (21), who is currently completing the final year of his BCom in Strategic Management in Cape Town, came across the MotiMoves programme and competition on Instagram.
“I was immediately interested in the programme, and submitted our plan in the hope that my brother and I could take our idea to the next level,” he says.
“If you don’t take a chance in life, you’ll never know what could have been or what you could have achieved. I’m enormously grateful to have entered the competition, and to have been selected as the July winners. The MotiMoves team has been absolutely incredible, and I would strongly recommend that anyone with a business idea take a chance and submit their proposal. You never know what could happen next!”
The Smith brothers’ proposal immediately grabbed the attention of the MotiMoves panel of judges, including Zunaid Moti himself, who has applauded their innovative idea for revolutionising the advertising landscape. While the brothers are now awaiting the copyright and patents for their product before sharing its exact details, they hope to see their company, Prism, become a major player in the digital and transport marketing arena.
“Our criteria for selecting MotiMoves winners are fairly straightforward. We’re not necessarily looking for the most high-tech ideas, but rather an innovative and viable idea that could make an impact in the market,” explains Moti.
“The business proposals need to be simple enough for anyone to understand. We then need to understand how much it will cost to develop a prototype and develop the business or concept further, and whether it will be able to generate sufficient cash flow. Entrants effectively have two pages to convince us that their idea deserves further investment and that it can work.
“The Smith brothers have a phenomenal idea, and when they submitted their concept, the judges and I were extremely impressed by their plan. Their idea is still in the embryotic stage, but with the right nurturing, it could disrupt the advertising landscape across Africa.
“I look forward to working more closely with George and Douglas, and to helping them make their business the huge success that it deserves,” he concludes.