Sanlam : Win at the Game of Business

Kobus Engelbrecht, Marketing Head: Sanlam Business Market, says it was no surprise that Phake was named the winner of the Small Business category in the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year competition, sponsored by Sanlam and Business Partners. 'What impressed the judges was the fact that he has learnt never to be complacent and that, in spite of his success, he remains acutely aware of his competition.'

As a young maverick and the first black player in the space, Phake is seeking to disrupt the South African stereotype of fitness training only being accessible to the wealthy. He analysed the big players and saw a market gap for a scalable corporate-focused model that provides a fully operational fitness facility for employees. Phake's business already supports 50 staff members, with 13 fully-equipped gyms across the country in various universities, government institutes and corporates. He says his long-term plan is African expansion and to list the company on the JSE.

Below Phake provides insight to aspiring entrepreneurs on how he managed to successfully fill a gap in a very dominant market.