Women-led Sayrx Engineering Group (SEG) and Pargo, a smart logistics company, have both been selected as Endeavor entrepreneurs at the recent Endeavor International Selection Panel (ISP) held in Brazil.
The honour comes after the companies were selected as finalists in the 2018 instalment of the FNB Business Innovation Awards (FNB BIA), which enabled their participation at the ISP. The selection gives the South African businesses access to a global network of business leaders and an opportunity to scale their business for a global market.
SEG was co-founded by Ingrid Osborne and Julie Mathieson in 2007, and offers a web-based system which automatically digitises company safety and compliance. Pargo is Cape Town based smart logistics company that was co-founded by Lars Veul and Derk Hoekert in 2015.
Nancy Lockett, Head of Marketing at FNB Business says the selection of the businesses at the ISP displays the sheer grit and innovation among SA entrepreneurs in a tough economic climate.
“We are delighted to afford incredible local SMEs an opportunity to showcase their world-class business models on a global platform. Our aim is to celebrate and recognise innovative SA businesses with the highest potential to scale globally. Through this scale, they can contribute to increased job creation, feeding back to the supply chain to create a far more active economy. Under the prevailing economic conditions, South Africa needs to double its efforts to support entrepreneurs,” says Lockett.
Catherine Townshend, Managing Director of Endeavor SA says: “The selection of these two businesses is a resounding confirmation that innovation exists in South Africa, and we are very proud to welcome the four founders to the Endeavor network. South African entrepreneurs are not only able to solve local problems but history shows that they can also build great global businesses which create employment opportunities.”
