L-R: Palesa Kouakou, Sharon Dikgale, Linda Sinclair, Hannah Sadiki, Sibongile Tiny Dlamini, Zimkita Yeki
Beauty and grooming brand Sorbet and Bidvest Bank, South Africa’s premier business bank for entrepreneurs, revealed and celebrated the winners of Sorbet-Preneur, an initiative designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to own their own Sorbet franchise. The intimate event was held on 15 March 2023 at the Bidvest Bank Head Office in Sandton.
The following women with a combined experience of 32 years at Sorbet, were announced as campaign winners and are on their way to owning a Sorbet Salon or Nailbar franchise:
- Sharon Dikgale
- Zimkita Yeki
- Palesa Kouakou
- Sibongile Dlamini
To acknowledge these amazing women as they realise their entrepreneurial journey and to honour International Women’s Month, Sorbet and Bidvest Bank conducted a prize giving ceremony to award the winners, and presented them with trophies and gifts to celebrate their remarkable achievement.
Entrepreneurial drive and ambition are essential
to building a prosperous future in South Africa
and it is very important that finance providers
are able to respond to this need.
Linda Sinclair, CEO of the Sorbet Group says: “It gives me such great pleasure to welcome the recently announced Sorbet-Preneur winners and Sorbet Salon franchise owners. What an honour, we look forward to empowering these amazing women with enough tools and skills that will see them succeed on their entrepreneurial journey.”
Hannah Sadiki, Bidvest Bank CEO, echoes a similar sentiment: “Entrepreneurial drive and ambition are essential to building a prosperous future in South Africa and it is very important that finance providers are able to respond to this need. At Bidvest Bank, we know that access to finance is a key driver in the creation, survival and growth of innovative new ventures. We are very encouraged by the response and the quality of the finalists to this innovative new partnership with Sorbet.”
The Sorbet-Preneur initiative is developed for Sorbet Citizens who aspire to become franchise owners but are not in a position to raise the funding. The Sorbet Citizens include employees who are employed across the Sorbet Group franchise-owned stores. The new franchise owners of a Sorbet Salon or Nailbar will receive 50% of the investment required to set up their businesses in the form of unencumbered cash from Bidvest Bank. Sorbet will waive the initial franchise fee, this means that all of this portion of the funding can be used to set up and equip the store.
Bidvest Bank will also provide a business loan to cover the balance of the funding needed to get started, which will also cater for initial operating costs. The amounts will be repayable over a five-year period aligned to the franchise agreement.
