Johann Vorster of Clover, winner of the Southern Africa EY Entrepreneur Award Programme, will head to Monaco in June for the 16th EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Vorster will be one of 49 contestants representing their countries, joining the 572 previous finalists of this event since 2001. The winner will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Saturday 11 June.

Vorster was recognised with the Southern Africa award for his entrepreneurial vision when he changed the National Co-Operative Dairies from a co-op with limitations into a dynamic market-leading company. Through his visionary and inclusive leadership style of bringing together workers and communities, the company transformed to list in 2010 on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Today, the group has grown into a leading diary brand in South Africa.

“For more than 30 years, EY has believed in the power of entrepreneurship to build a better working world. An entrepreneur’s ability to take an idea and build, scale and nurture a great company inspires us. This is why each year we are proud to offer the EY Southern Africa World Entrepreneur Awards Programme,” says Azim Omar, strategic growth markets leader for EY Africa.

This year’s programme also includes a series of summits, keynote speeches, panel discussions and events of special interest to the entrepreneurs, government officials and business people.

The overall winner is chosen by an independent judging panel of former EY Entrepreneur of the Year winners and other well-known entrepreneurs. The award is given on the basis of six criteria, giving all country winners an equal opportunity to compete: entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, global (or community) impact, innovation, and personal integrity/influence.

Caption: Uschi Schreiber, global vice chair of markets at EY, Johann Vorster of Clover, winner of the 2015 EY Southern Africa World Entrepreneur Award and Ajen Sita, CEO for EY Africa.