WHAT IS ROUTE TO MARKET?
Connections open doors.
Pitch your business to industry leaders to access new markets & opportunities.
GIBS Route to Market is an opportunity for early-stage medical / health, logistics or water lab equipment entrepreneurs in South Africa to gain high-level business coaching before pitching their businesses to the leadership teams at Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water – with the possibility of being introduced into their supply chain.
Backed by GIBS and Raizcorp, this opportunity is about getting you into a room with decision-makers who can change your business’s trajectory.
What you’ll get
GIBS certification
Receive foundational business training, accompanied by a certificate of participation, with the option to progress toward more formal GIBS certification.
Expert mentorship
Get guidance on business regulatory compliance requirements, including CIPC, SARS and banking, IP and other technical issues from industry leaders.
Pitch readiness training
Receive pitch coaching, judge feedback, strategic recommendations and expert input to help you refine your value proposition and portfolio of evidence.
Pitch to Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water leadership
As a category winner, you’ll present directly to senior decision-makers and open the door to commercial conversations.
GIBS certification
Receive foundational business training, accompanied by a certificate of participation, with the option to progress toward more formal GIBS certification.
Expert mentorship
Get guidance on business regulatory compliance requirements, including CIPC, SARS and banking, IP and other technical issues from industry leaders.
Pitch readiness training
Receive pitch coaching, judge feedback, strategic recommendations and expert input to help you refine your value proposition and portfolio of evidence.
Pitch to Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water leadership
As a category winner, you’ll present directly to senior decision-makers and open the door to commercial conversations.
High-level recognition
Winners and runners-up receive official RTM 2025 placement certificates endorsed by Aspen, DHL, uMngeni-uThukela Water, GIBS and Raizcorp.
High-impact networking & access
As a finalist or winner, you’ll gain access via GIBS and Raizcorp to powerful networks designed to support your growth.
Visibility & exposure
Get featured in a GIBS article, receive media coverage and a professional video spotlight on the GIBS and Raizcorp platforms.
Additional support
Select finalists will be invited to attend workshops, events or training sessions at GIBS and Raizcorp.
High-level recognition
Winners and runners-up receive official RTM 2025 placement certificates endorsed by Aspen, DHL, uMngeni-uThukela Water, GIBS and Raizcorp.
High-impact networking & access
As a finalist or winner, you’ll gain access via GIBS and Raizcorp to powerful networks designed to support your growth.
Visibility & exposure
Get featured in a GIBS article, receive media coverage and a professional video spotlight on the GIBS and Raizcorp platforms.
Additional support
Select finalists will be invited to attend workshops, events or training sessions at GIBS and Raizcorp.
Who should apply?
Calling all medical / health, logistics
& water lab equipment entrepreneurs
If you own a business that supports, produces or services the health / medical-, logistics- or water lab equipment industries, apply now for this game-changing opportunity.
MINIMUM CRITERIA
- You run a registered business (of which you own a minimum of 40%) that has been trading for less than 3 years
- You’re operating in the medical / health, logistics or water lab equipment industries
- You’re a South African citizen aged 18 or older
- Portions of this challenge require in-person participation at the GIBS campus in Illovo, Johannesburg. Entrants who advance to certain stages must be able to make their own way to these sessions – any travel and accommodation will be for the entrant’s own account.
Step 1:
Choose the appropriate competition category – either medical / health, logistics or water lab equipment – and fill in the online application form.
Step 2:
The top 5 applicants in each category will receive business learning and guidance from GIBS experts and other industry leaders, as well as pitch readiness training.
Step 3:
The top 5 applicants in each category will have an opportunity to present their pitch information pack to Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water leadership and a panel of judges. Applicants will receive feedback and strategic recommendations.
Step 4:
The top 3 applicants in each category will have a second opportunity to meet with either Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water leadership and the judges.
Step 5:
Finalists will be invited to participate in various networking opportunities, which may include events hosted by GIBS Alumni Network, SAVCA and other entrepreneurial societies and associations.
Step 6:
The winners in each category will be invited to a structured session with either Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water to explore supply chain integration and partnering opportunities.
We do not guarantee that any commercial relationship will result from this process. The mission of the Route-to-Market Challenge is to unearth high-potential businesses, provide them with targeted coaching and guidance, and immerse them with the relevant teams at Aspen, DHL or uMngeni-uThukela Water for a full exploration of potential synergies.
Past Contestants
Tim Peach | Ortho-Design
“The opportunity to engage with Aspen’s top executives was invaluable – it helped us sharpen our strategy and provided the clarity we needed to hit the milestones we had set for the business.”
Daan Steenkamp | Codera Analytics
“The feedback we received after pitching to the DHL team boosted our clarity and confidence and impacted how we present our business to the world.”
Colin Mkosi | Cloudy Deliveries
“Since winning in 2024, DHL has offered us support in the form of resources to help us grow, which has been crucial in refining our business model.”
Latest News
South Africa’s start-up problem isn’t funding — it’s access
Entrepreneurship, according to economist Israel Kirzner, is a “tendency for profit opportunities to be discovered and grasped by routine-resisting entrepreneurial market participants”.
Kirzner, an alumnus of the University of Cape Town and emeritus professor at New York University, is celebrated for his work defining entrepreneurship. The successful market actor, he says, is always “spontaneously on the lookout for hitherto unnoticed features of the environment which might inspire new activity”.
Taxi driver turned entrepreneur identified as a top innovator in the water sector in the uMngeni-uThukela Water Route to Market competition 2025
The Route to Market competition – now in its third year but its first featuring uMngeni-uThukela Water as a category sponsor – is designed to support and accelerate the growth of emerging businesses in the country’s most critical industries. Through partnerships with Aspen Pharmacare (medical and health category), DHL (logistics) and uMngeni-uThukela Water (water), the competition provides entrepreneurs with real access, real networking and real opportunity.
Entrepreneur driving township-focused delivery solutions wins DHL Route to Market 2025
The Route to Market competition – now in its third year but its second featuring DHL as a category sponsor – is designed to support and accelerate the growth of emerging businesses in the country’s most critical industries. Through partnerships with Aspen Pharmacare (medical and health category), DHL (logistics) and uMngeni-uThukela Water (water), the competition provides entrepreneurs with real access, real networking and real opportunity.