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Rules and regulations

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Rules and regulations

  1. Grant Thornton’s Private Business Growth Awards (“the Awards”) is presented in association with Business Botswana and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).
  2. To be eligible for the Awards, the participant must be a privately owned business / group ultimately held by citizens / residents of Botswana, OR privately owned business / group ultimately held by non-resident shareholders, operating in Botswana for >3 years and employs >100 employees.
  3. Each participant must meet the eligibility criteria.
  4. A participant can submit as a group of companies. In that case the credentials of the group can be presented, and consolidated / aggregated financial information of the group must be presented. Independent non-exempt companies within the group must be audited.
  5. There will be two category of main awards presented:
    1. large enterprise / group - company that has reported turnover in excess of P100 million in any of the last two (2) years as per the Annual Financial Statement, and employs more than 50 employees,
    2. medium enterprise / group - a company that meets one or none of the criteria of “large enterprise / group”.
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  1. Four (4) PBGA BITC special category awards will be awarded to companies registered with BITC:
    1. Investor of the year - manufacturing
    2. Investor of the year - services
    3. Investor of the year - expansions
    4. Exporter of the year
  2. Participants must confirm their eligibility and complete a Submission form. All submissions must be received no later than 15 August 2018. Incomplete or late submissions will automatically be disqualified.
  3. In addition to the Submission form completed in full detail, extra pages of attachments, media clippings, etc. may be submitted. Submission materials will not be returned. Incomplete or late submissions will automatically be disqualified.
  4. Financial information is an important and quantifiable indicator of success for our judges. It is encouraged that financial metrics be included where appropriate. If participating as a group, consolidated / aggregated financial information should be presented.
  5. By submitting a Submission form, participants’ representatives agree:
    1. to give Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC the right to use their name, title, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (“company information”) for the purpose of administering the Awards, an
    2. that Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC may use the company information for the purpose of promoting any other awards, contests, opportunities or events and to notify participants of any service, product or publication offered by Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC.
  6. Submission forms are available:
    1. at the Grant Thornton office,
    2. at the Business Botswana office,
    3. at the BITC office, and
    4. on the associates’ respective websites / social media channels.
  7. Submissions for the main award and / or PBGA BITC special category award may be made through:
    1. e-mail - pbga@bw.gt.com (if the attachments exceed 10MB in size, kindly send them through a file sharing portal, e.g. Dropbox), or
    2. registered post - P O Box 1157, Gaborone, Botswana, or
    3. couriered / hand delivered - Acumen Park, Plot 50370, Fairgrounds, Gaborone, Botswana.
  8. All submissions for the main awards will be acknowledged by the PBGA Desk.
  9. All information submitted as part of the Awards will be considered confidential.
  10. Each main awards submission will be pre-screened using the same selection criteria that will be used in the final judging. Submissions receiving the highest overall scores in the pre-screening will be forwarded to the final Selection Committee to determine the finalists and winner.
  11. The main awards finalists will be subject to a review process carried out by Grant Thornton. Financial information will be treated as confidential, seen only by the Private Business Growth Awards administrators and the judging panel, and reviewed on the basis of consistency of information, evidence of good financial practices and the financial strength of the company. The finalists will be required to provide the reviewers with any supporting information requested including the audited financial statements and any other information as disclosed in their Submission form. Reference and background checks may be completed for all participants.
  12. All financial information submitted will be kept in strict confidence and will only be available to the judges and awards administrators. Further details regarding our privacy policy can be obtained through the PBGA Desk on pbga@bw.gt.com.
  13. For the main awards, a Selection Committee of impartial judges will consist of eight (8) individuals, including representatives of Grant Thornton, Botswana Businesses and BITC. The Selection Committee will select the finalists and winners by scoring submissions in each of the selection criteria. In the event of a tie, the judges will use their discretion to select a winner. Judges’ selections are final and are not subject to review.
  14. For the main awards, from the shortlisted participants, the Selection Committee will choose three (3) finalists, and one (1) winner from amongst the finalists, per category of the Awards.
  15. The main awards will be given to two private businesses that have demonstrated holistic growth through the following selection criteria:
    1. innovation: product and service development, and improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of internal processes,
    2. market development: go-to-market strategy, expansion into new domestic or international markets, Economic Diversification, Drive (EDD),
    3. people and culture: job creation and helping employees learn and develop as a critical part of overall growth,
    4. strategic leadership: leadership team, strategic direction, succession planning, and stakeholder relations, community involvement, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and
    5. financial measures and operational information: revenue growth and profitability improvement.
  16. The Awards will be assessed against criteria as listed in the Submission form completion guidelines.
  17. Main awards participants do not have to satisfy each of the selection criteria to be considered, although the winning business must demonstrate that it has achieved growth across a number of the selection criteria. Participants that satisfy more selection criteria may receive a higher overall score from the judges.
  18. The Award will only be given to a company. Individual owners, executives and employees are not eligible to win.
  19. The finalists will be notified prior to the event. They will be required to maintain confidentiality of the results until the official announcement of the winner at a gala dinner to be held in Gaborone on 31 October 2018.
  20. The winner, finalists and participants of each PBGA main award and PBGA BITC special category award will receive the following as respectively indicated:
Component PBGA large / medium category winner PBGA large / medium category finalist PBGA large / medium category participant PBGA BITC special category winner PBGA BITC special category finalist
1. a prestigious award and winning title ✓     ✓  
2. publicity and promotion through media / Grant Thornton / Business Botswana / BITC ✓     ✓  
3. service of a “Statutory Health Check” / non-audit services from Grant Thornton, to be utilized before 30 June 2019 ✓        
4. one-year membership to Business Botswana for the year 2018-19 ✓        
5. branded gift from BITC ✓     ✓  
6. registration for use of the Botswana Pride Mark ✓     ✓  
7. finalist’s plaque ✓ ✓   ✓ ✓
8. video profiling the company, which may be used as part of the company’s website, events, front office TV display, etc. (subject to Terms and Conditions of use) ✓ ✓      
9. PBGA personalized logo, which may be used in the company’s e-mail signatures, tender documents, profile, website, etc. (subject to Terms and Conditions of use) ✓ ✓      
10. certificate of appreciation for contribution to the private sector of the country, which may be used in tender documents, etc. (only if sufficient supporting information about the company’s growth is given as part of the submission) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
11. business assessment feedback based on information received as part of the company’s submission for the Awards (only if sufficient supporting information about the company’s growth is given as part of the submission) ✓ ✓ ✓    
12. 3X3 stall at the 2019 Global Expo Botswana       ✓  
13. invite to the Private Business Growth Awards ceremony and gala dinner (number of invites to be determined by Grant Thornton / BITC) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
  1. The Award must be accepted as offered and is not transferable or convertible to cash. Grant Thornton reserve the right to withdraw or make substitutions to the Awards without notice. The Awards may be subject to additional terms and conditions regarding use. Grant Thornton reserves the right to terminate, cancel or suspend the Awards, or any component thereof, at any time for any reason whatsoever.
  2. The Awards recipients may be asked to participate in media relations activities and / or media interviews. The Awards winners agrees to make a representative available for any such events on reasonable notice.
  3. Terms and Conditions - By submitting a Submission form, all participants agree that:
    1. they have read and agree to these rules and regulations,
    2. they have complied with all eligibility requirements,
    3. the Awards will be accepted as presented,
    4. the information they are submitting is true, complete and accurate,
    5. the information being submitted as part of the submission process will be used by Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC in conjunction with their third party service providers / awards administrator and judging panels in selecting an Award recipient and consent for such purpose as herein provided,
    6. Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC shall have the unrestricted right to produce, reproduce, publicize, broadcast, exhibit, distribute and otherwise use in any fashion, the finalists’ names, logo, trademark, and any photograph, voice or likeness of any personal representative thereof whose consent the finalist will be responsible for obtaining, for advertising and publicity purposes without any additional compensation,
    7. Grant Thornton, Business Botswana, BITC and all their respective officers, directors, members, partners, principals and employees are hereby released from any and all liability, loss, damages or cost related to participation in the Awards process or the acceptance, use or misuse of the Awards. Grant Thornton, Business Botswana and BITC assume no liability for any lost, late, illegible, falsified, misdirected or incomplete submission, notification, reply or the unauthorized use of or access to same, or for any technical malfunction, loss or delay in data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, damage or failure of any computer, equipment, software, website, e-mail, server, online system, network, lines or browser related to or resulting from participation in the Awards. Grant Thornton assume no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, cost, injury or claim howsoever caused,
    8. all financial information submitted will be kept in the strict confidence and will only be available to the judges and awards administrators. Further details regarding our privacy policy can be obtained through the PBGA Desk on pbga@bw.gt.com, and
    9. by participating in the Awards, the participants unconditionally agree to be bound by the decisions in any way relating to the Awards, as may be determined by Grant Thornton in their sole discretion, which will be final and binding in all respects. Decisions are not subject to appeal.The Awards are governed by all applicable laws and regulations of Botswana.
  4. The Awards are governed by all applicable laws and regulations of Botswana.
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