By Nhlanhla Zama, Head of Empowerment at Umgeni-Uthukela Water.
Nedbank Pitch & Polish, one of South Africa's most consistent engines of entrepreneurial growth, has opened entries for its 16th season with long-time headline partner Nedbank.
Entrepreneurs are widely recognized as the engines of South Africa's economy, with SMMEs contributing significantly to employment and local economic activity. Yet despite this, many businesses remain informal, stuck in survival mode, or unable to move beyond subsistence.
Funding is often cited as the primary barrier, with limited capital, disrupted cash flow and lack of investors commonly seen as barriers holding entrepreneurs back. However, from a funder's perspective, the issue is more nuanced.
South Africa's economic context only exacerbates these pressures. Entrepreneurs must pay attention to infrastructure constraints, procurement complexity and compliance demands given the level of business maturity expected from day one.
Many entrepreneurs believe that funding will enable them to build better businesses. In reality, funders are more likely to support businesses that have already demonstrated discipline, structure, and the ability to execute.
Entrepreneurs often believe that funding will enable them to build better businesses. In reality, funders are more likely to support businesses that have already demonstrated discipline, structure, and the ability to execute. From a funding perspective, consistent performance, a clear understanding of the financial position and the ability to deliver on plans are critical – without these fundamentals, even strong ideas become difficult to support.
The real bottleneck: capacity, not capital
Although capital remains a constraint, the deeper challenge lies in implementation. Studies show that over 96% of small businesses fail within their first 10 years (Michael E. Gerber – The E-Myth Revisited), with limited management capacity, not funding – identified as the primary cause. Many founders are technically proficient but lack the leadership, financial understanding and strategic clarity needed to scale a business.
This gap shows up in practical ways, including weak pricing models, poor cash flow management, limited forecasting, and underdeveloped sales pipelines. Without these fundamentals, growth grinds to a halt and access to funding becomes out of reach.
As Alan Raiz points out, this is where many otherwise promising businesses begin to falter: “Founders often struggle with leadership and management gaps, and this is what limits strategic execution. Even where funding opportunities exist, a lack of financial literacy, planning, and operational systems can restrict access to capital.”
Access to markets further compounds the challenge. Many SMMEs remain confined to saturated local ecosystems, competing at low margins. Breaking into large supply chains requires governance, continuity, and the ability to meet procurement standards that early-stage businesses are often not yet structured for.
Skills shortages, particularly in areas like digital adoption and operational planning, add another layer of hindrance. Without systems and reliable data, decision making remains reactive, limiting both flexibility and long-term growth.
Over time, these factors form a structural web. Many businesses rely heavily on personal savings and informal funding, while being unable to meet the collateral, compliance and business-history requirements of formal lenders.
From funding to implementation
If funding is not the core constraint, simply increasing access to capital will not solve the problem. What is needed is structured business development that strengthens the inherent ability of entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable businesses.
Now in its 16th season, Nedbank Pitch & Polish, supported by headline sponsor RyzCorp and Gold sponsor Umgeni-Uthukela Water, is designed to meet exactly this need. Rather than rewarding pitch performance alone, the program is designed to help entrepreneurs develop better businesses.
“We know that many entrepreneurs have the drive and ideas to succeed, but often lack the structured support needed to transform that potential into sustainable growth. Strengthening how businesses operate, make decisions and respond to opportunity is critical to long-term success,” says Nhlanhla Zama, head of empowerment at Umgeni-Uthukela Water.
“As a Gold sponsor of Nedbank Pitch & Polish, we are committed to supporting initiatives that focus on building this capacity. By investing in the development of more resilient and prepared entrepreneurs, we are helping to unlock businesses that can sustainably grow, create jobs and contribute meaningfully to local economic growth.”
While viewers engage in high-stakes competition on screen, behind the scenes the contestants are taken through a rigorous, structured learning journey designed around this same approach. The focus is not on grooming more sophisticated presenters, but on grooming more capable founders.
Participants are supported over several rounds with targeted interventions that address the realities of running and growing a business. This includes refining product-market fit, strengthening pricing and financial models, building sales processes, and improving operational systems.
This learning is reinforced through one-on-one mentoring, where entrepreneurs are challenged to confront weaknesses, stress-test assumptions and defend their commercial decisions in real time.
The important thing is that progress, not perfection, determines success. Contestants are eliminated not for giving an incomplete pitch, but for lack of development. They are evaluated on how effectively they absorb feedback, adapt their thinking and strengthen their business under pressure. This reflects the reality of entrepreneurship itself: success is rarely about getting it right the first time, but rather about learning quickly and executing better every time.
Entrepreneurs still compete for a prize package of R1 million, which includes R650,000 cash and a scholarship of R350,000 for a two-year incubation programme. However, the more significant value lies in the capacity developed through the process, which improves access to funding, strengthens market readiness and supports long-term sustainability for each competitor, regardless of where they are in the final ranking.
Building businesses that can scale
Entrepreneurship remains central to South Africa's development ambitions. But without capacity, ambition does not translate into scale.
Sustainable businesses are built on strong leadership, financial discipline, operational systems and reliable access to markets. If the goal is meaningful economic inclusion and job creation, then strengthening execution capacity, not simply increasing access to funding, must be at the center of South Africa's entrepreneurship agenda.