- Xero has announced the South African winners of its 2024 Beautiful Business Fund.
- A total of 28 winners were announced globally, with four being selected for South Africa.
- The winners will receive a share of Xero’s R8 000 000 global prize pool.
In July Xero announced that its Beautiful Business Fund would be making a return for 2024, with the global initiative looking to reward businesses that seek to make a meaningful impact to the community in which they reside.
With applications for the initiative closing in late August, the winners have now been announced, with four from South Africa having been selected.
A total of 28 small business and non-profit winners were announced, with each winning a share of an R8 000 000 global prize pool.
“Winners from South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the US were selected based on a 90-second video demonstrating how they would use the funding to support their future business goals,” explained Xero in a release shared with Hypertext.
“Xero small business and non-profit customers could enter under four categories: Innovating for environmental sustainability, Trailblazing with technology, Strengthening community connection, and Upskilling for the future,” it continued.
The 24 country winners will each receive R250 000 from Xero, while the four global winners will each receive R550 000.
As for South Africa, the four winners for each category this year are:
- Innovating for environmental sustainability – House Harvest, a female-led aquaponics farm producing fish and quality produce with 90 percent water reuse and sustainable fish feed.
- Trailblazing with technology – Atomedge, creates advanced 3D anatomy models for education and medical research.
- Strengthening community connection – The Underdog Project, connects underprivileged youth and shelter dogs for collective healing.
- Upskilling for the future – ABEOD, provides innovative drone solutions for safer operations.
“The stories of these self-made businesses are truly inspiring to watch. They embody the resilience and optimism that’s at the heart of South African small businesses. This year’s winners are doing incredible work, using technology to innovate and make a positive impact on their communities,” added Colin Timmis, country manager at Xero South Africa.
