Five Auckland teams have won seven awards tonight at the Young Enterprise National Awards in Wellington.
The national awards recognised student teams who were taking part in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES). Each YES team was challenged to create a run a small business this year.
The Auckland award winners were:
- OLelei from Henderson High School won the Ministry for Pacific Peoples Award for Excellence in Pasifika Business; and won the Todd Corporation Award for 2nd Place Overall. This team has created a range of dairy free foods, including almond milk yoghurt and almond milk icecream (watch a video interview with the teams’ CEO, Matt Billington).
- Ed.Life from Macleans College won the Movac Award for High Growth Potential and the Unitec Award for Enterprising Technology. Ed.Life created a mobile app that helps students organise their academic life. The app is available in eight languages and has been downloaded more than 35,000 times.
- BrightLife from ACG Parnell College won the XERO Award for Thinking Big. BrightLife have pioneered LED cycle clothing to increase the visibility of cyclists and improve their safety.
- Te Kāhui Kanorau from Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae won the Arts and Culture Award. The team shared their culture with the community by performing kapa haka at events throughout Auckland.
- Trident App Design from Takapuna Grammar School won the Callaghan Innovation Award for the Best Digital Technology Company. Trident created a marine weather app using information sourced from around the world.
Each award winner collected a $1000 cash prize, which was provided courtesy of Young Enterprise and the award sponsors.
More than 3,400 secondary students across the country took part in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme this year. In the Auckland region alone, over 200 teams and 1000 students took part. The programme is managed nationwide by Young Enterprise Trust and coordinated in Auckland by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development.
"With more than a third of our students coming from Auckland, we knew some great products and services would come out of this region," said Young Enterprise CEO Terry Shubkin. “Olelei has been deemed the 2nd best Young Enterprise company in the entire country, better than over 600 others. And Ed.Life was the only team in the country to win two of our Excellence Awards. We’re delighted for all of the winning Auckland teams."
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) delivers The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) in Auckland on behalf of the Young Enterprise Trust.
ATEED’s Chief Executive, Brett O’Riley, describes the quality of entrepreneurial ideas as highly impressive and commends Auckland students for their hard work and determination.
"The breadth of these innovative ideas is testament to the culture of entrepreneurship which is going from strength to strength amongst Auckland’s young people," he says.
"Auckland youth play a pivotal role in transforming and nurturing our economy, and initiatives such as the Young Enterprise Scheme are crucial in not only helping to turn ideas into a commercial reality but in supporting young people throughout their journey," Brett O’Riley says.
The full list of winners from the Young Enterprise National Awards can be found on www.youngenterprise.org.nz.
Notes:
- Images of all award winners available from Dropbox via this link
- For comments, please call: Terry Shubkin – CEO, Young Enterprise – 021 611 312
- To arrange interviews with students, please call: Sasha Webb – Communications Manager, Young Enterprise – 027 430 3275