Big Beard Web Solutions’ Marketing Manager, Jamie-Leigh Govender, accepts the Emerging Partner Excellence Award for their commitment to creating inclusive digital opportunities through internships and employment
Small team, big impact. In a sector that often equates scale with success, Big Beard Web Solutions offers a different lesson: when a nimble business puts people at the center of performance, everyone grows. As the winner of the Emerging Partner Excellence award at the CAPACITI Catalyst Awards, Big Beard has shown how day‑one trust, clear expectations and meaningful work can accelerate early careers and strengthen an ecosystem.
About the award
The Emerging Partner Excellence category recognises a small or scaling business that demonstrates growth, agility and a sustained commitment to developing young talent. It celebrates the partners who prove that size is no barrier to big impact.
The partnership story
The spark began at the 4th Annual Internet Summit (2024) when Siyamthanda Maxwell Gxowa, who was then a CAPACITI candidate, struck up a conversation with David-John Wayne Bailey from Big Beard Web Solutions. It was one of those unscripted moments that carry their own momentum: the chat spilled into the buffet line, Siya looped in his tech mentor, Brandon September, and a door opened. What started as a genuine exchange quickly became a shared commitment to creating room for emerging talent.
That human beginning set the tone for everything that followed. Big Beard welcomed our candidates as professionals and peers, backing potential with real responsibility and support. The cadence has stayed consistent ever since: see potential, set a high bar, provide the scaffolding, and place young professionals in real teams doing real work. We’ve already hit meaningful milestones together and the sense on both sides is that what comes next will be even bigger.
CAPACITI’s Head of Partnerships, Chesarae Pillay, presented the Emerging Partner Excellence Award to Big Beard Web Solutions. We salute their bold leadership and dedication to providing the internships and employment opportunities that help our candidates thrive in the digital world.
The Impact
- Over the last 12 months, Big Beard supported the growth journey of almost 20 CAPACITI candidates.
- Their participation helped drive over 10% organic ecosystem growth for CAPACITI in the Western Cape region.
- Managers report stronger integration, higher confidence and better delivery from candidates who felt trusted from day one.
David-John Wayne Bailey, Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures at Big Beard Web Solutions, shared powerful reflections on the team’s journey from a start-up dream to an award-winning reality.
“The local tech scene is notoriously hard to get a solid foothold in, even more so for females. Our Founder and Managing Director Nathan Simons trusted a girl fresh out of high school to build Big Beard Web Solutions with him back in 2020 and now here we are – an award-winning business that’s finally ready to stand on the world’s stage.”
Why it matters
CAPACITI’s mission is to shift perceptions of talent, to help organisations see capability, not just credentials, and to invest in potential with the right scaffolding. Big Beard embodies that mission in practice. By welcoming young professionals into real teams with real work, they’ve demonstrated a model that other small businesses can adopt: see the person, set the bar, support the climb.
Looking ahead
We’re excited to keep building with Big Beard as they expand their team and their impact. If you’re a small business curious about hosting or hiring emerging talent, our team would be glad to share what works.
