Blueprint for a business plan competition: Can it work?

Institutions globally are focusing on ways and means to develop businesses and an entrepreneurial culture. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are regarded the world over as being job creators of the future and battling more and more with large corporations, which are retrenching staff, and it has fallen to the SMME sector to create employment. Consequently, governments and institutions are focusing increasingly on ensuring that entrepreneurial growth takes place. One method used almost universally is business plan competitions which are aimed at stimulating interest in business and getting people with the skills to start their own businesses. There are many of these competitions in the industry but they will only succeed if the idea is evaluated positively. If it is not, the initiative might not be able to attract funding or gain access to potential suppliers and customers. This article focuses on an analysis of success factors of business plan competitions and recommends a blueprint that can be followed – with minor country or regional adjustments – to run these competitions successfully.