New sponsor adds glamour to Achiever Awards

It’s time to get the ball rolling for the annual Jewish Achiever Awards, back for its 26th consecutive year, but this time with a brand-new title sponsor: Investec.

The newly titled Investec Jewish Achiever Awards is going to be a phenomenal ceremony with all the glitz and glamour you have come to expect over the past 26 years.

The categories will still span business excellence; leadership; humanitarian efforts; art, sport, science, and culture; community service; women in leadership; and youth. So, it’s time to get voting in the 10 categories in order to choose the most outstanding people who have shown exemplary prowess in their fields. The remarkable winners will be honoured for being on top of their game in their categories.

The ceremony, to be held on 2 November 2025, creates role models for the rest of South Africa. We will pay tribute to those who show the world that it’s important to take risks; to do the extraordinary; and shine in a country desperate for people willing to risk it all to create a better society.

With 10 categories, no stone is left unturned in recognising the best of the best that the South African Jewish community has to offer, not only to South Africans, but to the globe.

The remarkable array of nominees demonstrates the disproportionate and inconceivable contribution that South African Jewry has made to South Africa.

Previous winners include entrepreneur and former Bidvest Chief Executive Brian Joffe; Discovery Group Chief Executive Adrian Gore; former Investec Chief Executive Stephen Koseff; philanthropist Natie Kirsh; business magnate Sol Kerzner; and late business leader and philanthropist Issie Kirsh.

The Achiever Awards seeks out the extraordinary, the people who have gone from important to significant.

Winners of this year’s awards will be held to the same esteem as previous years’ winners, which include Foschini Group Chairperson Michael Lewis; and Nando’s founder Robbie Brozin, the former winners of the Kirsh Family Lifetime Achievement award; as well as music star and the winner of last year’s Special and Extraordinary award, Trevor Rabin.

The categories are the same as last year, with a slight alteration to the scope of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation Rising Star Award, which has been broadened to include any remarkable young person under the age of 30, not 25.

Nominations for the 10 categories are open to the public from now until 12 September, which isn’t long, so get thinking about who you need to nominate in order to ensure the right people win this year.

The entire South African Jewish community and its allies and associates are entitled to nominate those who they think should be our next role models.

Every year, hundreds upon hundreds of nominations flood in, and it’s up to dedicated judging panels to spend time evaluating each of the nominees as well as input from the public vote. This is all so that on 2 November, we can all come together for a glimmering night where we can celebrate the best of the best of the South African Jewish community.

The categories are: the Investec Business Icon Award; the Investec Professional Excellence Award; the Investec Business Leadership Award; the Eric Ellerine Entrepreneur Award; the Europcar Women in Leadership Award; the Bertie Lubner Humanitarian Award in honour of Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris; the Mann Made Community Service Award; the Ichikowitz Family Foundation Rising Star Award; The Kirsh Family Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Art, Sport, Science, and Culture Award.

Nominate here: https://bit.ly/jaa25nom