Gloria Serobe is a champion of economic freedom for women

The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to South African businesswoman Gloria Serobe at the EY World Entrepreneur Award in Southern Africa ceremony on Thursday, 29 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The award recognises prominent business people whose enterprises have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the economies in their respective countries.

Serobe has received many accolades and awards throughout her career – and has been widely recognised for her outstanding contribution towards creating social and economic change in South Africa, and for the empowerment and development of women, particularly those in rural areas.

As the Founding Member and Chief Executive Officer of Women Investment Portfolio Holdings (WIPHOLD), she has earned a distinguished reputation as a leader in the South African business world. Apart from her leadership role within WIPHOLD, Gloria serves on several boards.

“I am flattered by this award. As it is difficult for women to get the same opportunities in business as men, all we wanted to do as WIPHOLD was to create a critical mass of women in business, as opposed to each one doing their own thing. There must never be a time again when a woman who wants to open a business goes through what we went through,” says Serobe on accepting her award.

EY is honoured to recognise Gloria Serobe with the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. This award acknowledges and celebrates the significant contribution she has made to Southern Africa by changing the game of her industry.

She is a founding member of South Africa’s first and most successful black women-owned investment company focused on acquiring and building strategic investments in key sectors of the economy, that in turn offer value and returns which WIPHOLD has used to drive broad-based empowerment initiatives for more than two decades.

“The EY World Entrepreneur programme is a powerful reflection of our purpose to build a better working world. At EY, we celebrate the innovators who dare to think differently and whose relentless pursuit of excellence drives positive change and sustainable economic growth in the Southern Africa region. EY’s global platform allows these entrepreneurs to compete on a global scale, as will be witnessed at the final round of this award in Monte Carlo in 2019,” says EY Africa Markets Leader, Roderick Wolfenden.

The EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards is a culmination of the regional programmes and is held in June each year in Monte Carlo, where entrepreneurs from over 60 countries around the world compete for one of the most coveted global business awards.

For 21 years the World Entrepreneur Awards in Southern Africa have been celebrating, supporting and connecting entrepreneurs. This is more than just a business award, it’s a global program which helps entrepreneurial businesses in more than 150 cities in over 60 countries.

The Southern Africa program incorporates ten countries: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

This year’s award was hosted in Sandton, Johannesburg on 29 November where the finalists were honoured and the Category winners were announced.

They are Ridhwan Kahn of Mobicel Communications – Master Category, Davison Norupiri of Davipel Trading – Emerging Category and Deborah Merdjan of The Camelot Group. Ridhwan will now continue on to compete for the prestigious title of World Entrepreneur Of The Yearin June 2019.

African Pres Organisation