Nomination Process
There are five EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award categories that have been established to recognise New Zealand’s best entrepreneurs.
Products - Nominees in this category are retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers of products from all industries.
Services - These entrepreneurs are providers of professional services e.g. financial, engineering, architecture, real estate, property, recreation and leisure.
Technology & Emerging Industries - Nominees who run businesses within software, hardware, telecommunications, digital media, biotechnology or health sciences industries.
Young - Entrepreneurs 35 years or younger (Thursday 20 June 2024) across all industries are eligible for this category.
Master Entrepreneur - A category designed for leaders of well-established businesses that have made a significant commitment to entrepreneurship.
Criteria for eligibility
- To be eligible for the programme, you must:
- Be a company founder, owner or manager of a private or public company or organisation who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company or organisation, and an active member of senior management
- Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
- Have a significant equity stake in the business
- Have a company that has been in existence for at least two years at close of applications, Thursday 20 June 2024.
Judging Critera
The independent judging panel considers each entrepreneur finalist against the following criteria, developed and used globally in country Entrepreneur Of The Year programmes as well as EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year. The six criteria are a balanced scorecard.