adminSecurico will be among 15 semi-finalists from which the final 10 will be chosen to make a live presentation to an expert panel of judges in Nairobi on December 6.
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship recognise and reward business leaders who serve as role models to Africa’s aspiring entrepreneurs and who demonstrate business excellence, innovation and profitability.
Asked to comment on the company’s positive performance in the face of a challenging economic environment, Securico founder and managing director Ms Divine Ndhlukula said her organisation had always made deliberate efforts to promote quality in every facet of its operations.
“Our greatest strengths are our focus on three key areas: the people – employees, the systems and the customer. We have always believed in giving the best to our staff in order to get the best out of them,” he said.
“We take cognisance of our employees’ ambitions in life and we try to align these ambitions with the organisation’s goals. This approach has taken us a long way and is the underlying factor of our company’s success.
“Secondly, we have ensured that our internal systems are robust and are continuously improved upon to deliver the best value to the customer, hence the attain ment of international standards like ISO 9001.
“From the outset, we ensured that all staff and operatives understood the company’s quality goals, the benefits of a culture premised on quality and what each individual would need to do.”
Securico last year became the first manned security organisation in the country to be certified to the internationally acclaimed ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
Securico has been recognised by winning a good number of business awards in the past decade.
Earlier this year, the company was adjudged Zimbabwe’s Seventh Best Employer and the Company of the Year at the inaugural National Quality Awards (NAQA) held last month.
In terms of the Africa Awards for Entreprenuership – which received more than 3 300 applications from 48 African countries – Securico was initially selected as one of the top 30 companies.
The awards attract a grand prize of US$100 000 and five further prizes of US$50 000 to outstanding entrepreneurial business leaders across the continent.
Now that they have made it to the top 15, management is confident they can achieve greater heights.
“The Securico team is confident that they will get to the top five when the finals are announced in Nairobi in December in this prestigious competition, and make Zimbabwe proud,” said Ms Ndhlukula.
A team of judges is expected in the country for an in-depth evaluation of the company, which will include one-on-one interviews with the company’s management and employees.
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, which are in their fourth edition, are organised by two investment organisations, the Legatum Institute, a private international investment group, and Omidvar Network – a philanthropic investment firm. This is the first time that the awards have been Africa-wide since their inception, as previous editions were limited to a few African countries.
Meanwhile, the Legatum Institute, publishers of the 110-country Global Prosperity Index, has published a report on entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report found that entrepreneurship and access to opportunity are by far the most highly correlated indicators of a nation’s overall prosperity.
Online Reporter