He should know - the Irish-born boss of giant South African transport group Imperial Holdings has just been crowned Entrepreneur of the Year.

The award, presented by accountants Ernst & Young, recognises the cream of business talent internationally.

Mr Lynch told the Daily Telegraph:

"You will meet a lot of people in life who will say 'I could have done that'.

"If you are ambitious and an achiever you do it in whatever way you can."

Former judge in the annual competition, William Saito, said many entrepreneurs had to take risks and overcome problems.

He said:

"They have overcome those adversities and made something where a normal person would have moved on and given up."