BY THEMBA ZWANE
EZULWINI – The annual turnover of local businesses that were beneficiaries of the SEDCO Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) has exceeded E167 million.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, during the official launch of the 2026 edition which marked a 20th anniversary.
The minister noted that the cumulative impact data of the programme told a story that every partner, every sponsor, and every government official in the room should take pride in. He said over the recorded history of this programme, the numbers tell a story that speaks for itself.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards has recognised over 162 winners, disbursed more than E2.4 million in cash prizes directly into growing businesses, and supported a combined workforce of over 1,600 employees across winning enterprises.
“Perhaps most strikingly, the combined annual turnover of recognised businesses has exceeded E167 million; a figure that underscores, beyond any doubt, that this is not simply an awards ceremony. It is an economic intervention. Each prize handed out on that stage is working capital reinvested. Each winner recognised is a business strengthened, a job sustained, and a community uplifted. That is the true return on twenty years of investment in Eswatini’s entrepreneurs,” he said.
Khumalo highlighted that 20 years ago, SEDCO and its partners made a commitment to Eswatini’s entrepreneurs. A commitment to see them, to celebrate them, and to hold them to the highest standards of business excellence.
“This morning, I stand before you proud to say that commitment has been honoured, year after year, edition after edition, across all four regions of this Kingdom.
This year’s theme, “20 Years of Nurturing Future Growth”, captures not just what we have done, but what we are resolved to keep doing. The word nurturing is deliberate. It speaks to patience, to investment, to the kind of long-term belief in people that produces results not overnight, but over a generation. That is precisely what we see when we look at the record of this programme,” he said.
The legislator noted further that 2026 was also a year of profound national significance.
“Our nation marks 40 years of His Majesty King Mswati III’s visionary leadership and reign. Throughout those four decades, His Majesty has personally graced and officiated the EYA National Awards Gala, lending royal endorsement to the message that entrepreneurship is a national priority of the highest order. His Majesty has also declared this a Year of Agape Love, a year of unconditional service and sacrifice for the benefit of our people. This launch, and everything it sets in motion, is our ministry’s answer to that call.”
For two decades, Khumalo said the programme has been a mirror held up to the very best of Eswatini’s entrepreneurial spirit.
He highlighted that it was in 2002 that Ezekiel Mkhombe of E.M Loggers stepped onto that first stage and set the standard; becoming the founding champion of what would grow into the most prestigious entrepreneurial platform in the Kingdom.
23 years later, Duncan Dlamini of DJD Pork carried that legacy forward as the 2025 national champion, proving that the hunger, the grit, and the ambition that defined the programme from day one was alive and well in Eswatini’s business community.
He said between those two names lied a roll of honour that spans every sector and every region of this Kingdom; a twenty-year chronicle of businesses built, standards raised, and an economy moved steadily forward by the hands of their own people.
“This ministry does not merely celebrate entrepreneurship. We work every day to build the conditions in which it can thrive.Over recent years, we have made significant legislative and policy progress.
The Citizen Economic Empowerment Act ensures that indigenous Eswatini businesses benefit from preferential procurement and targeted institutional support. The National MSME Policy 2024 to 2029 sets out a seven-pillar framework for growing the sector, addressing access to finance, markets, digital readiness, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial culture. These are not documents on a shelf. They are the policy foundation that SEDCO, the EYA, and every business support programme in this Kingdom stands on,” he said.
Khumalo said they have also been rolling out entrepreneurship support services to Tinkhundla centres across the country, in direct response to His Majesty’s directive to ensure that government services reach every emaSwati, wherever they live. This is because they know that the next EYA winner could be anywhere in this Kingdom and their job is to make sure they can find them before they find them.
To the corporate leaders, financial institutions, and captains of industry present, the minister said they represented the very partnerships that will determine whether the promise of this programme is fulfilled not just for another twenty years, but for generations to come.
He also noted that the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards programme works because they chose to invest in it and for twenty years, that investment has produced real, measurable results.
He reiterated that the businesses of their winners have generated a combined turnover of over E167 million. They have created and sustained more than 1,600 jobs across all four regions of this Kingdom.
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