SMME stands for small, medium and micro enterprises. The qualification of an MSME is defined according to the revised Schedule 1 of the National Definition of Small Enterprise Schedule (March 2019) contained in the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act No. 102 of 1996), read with the National Enterprise Amendment Act, 2003 (Act No. 26 of 2003) and the National Small Enterprises Act, 2004 (Act No. 29 of 2004). For more detail please use go to the following link: Revised Schedule 1 of the National Definition of Small Enterprise Schedule

A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. A cooperative society is defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who uses its services or work for it. Cooperatives are regulated by the Cooperatives Act 14 of 2005.

A financier or funder is an organisation, public or private in nature, whose sole or main business is the provision finance to MSMEs, Cooperatives and relevant enterprises. This funding can come in the form of debt instruments, equity instruments or grant funding.

An Ecosystem Support Services stakeholder or service provider is a company or organisation that facilitates or enables MSMEs, entrepreneurs and cooperatives to achieve growth and sustainability through capacity building, market access or other means of empowerment. These Ecosystem Support services come in the form of accelerator programmes, incubation hubs and other similar organisations such as chambers or community-based organisations. Ecosystem Support Services stakeholders or service providers exclude corporates.

According to the B-BBEE Commission, the purpose of the Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) is “to promote a conducive environment for creation of sustainable partnerships between Corporate South Africa and black entrepreneurs to enable access and transformation of the value chains. Therefore, a Corporate with an ESD Programme is a Corporate that is running or sponsoring an ESD Programme that has the objective of providing support to qualifying suppliers and customers across their value chain.

One director of a registered entity or one member of a cooperative can apply. Information about other directors or members will be requested in the next phase.

Yes, you can apply/nominate yourself for The National Presidential MSME Awards 2026.

Yes, flights and accommodation will be provided only to the successful candidates in the MSME and Cooperatives category.

Yes, you can upload your documents if you do not have independently reviewed or audited financial statements. Though, an independently reviewed financial statements or audited financial statements gives you an edge over other nominees.

The selection and judging process will be audited by an external Auditing firm to ensure fairness across the board.

All nominations and applications close on the Friday, 27 July 2026