27 October 2021
Young Enterprise Regional Awards
This year’s business students from throughout Southland prepare for the Southland Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Regional Final to be held on Tuesday, 2 November at Southern Institute of Technology.
To win the regional title, YES businesses needed to complete a variety of business milestones during the year including validation, pitching, promotion, and sales challenges.
The YES businesses invited to pitch at the Regional Finals include:
- AltoEco, James Hargest College
- Backyard Buffs, Mount Aspiring
- Cards of Colours, Southland Boys’ High School
- Denim Dilemma, Southland Girls’ High School
- EMOTI, Mount Aspiring
- Equal Earrings, Mount Aspiring
- Ice Rival, Southland Boys’ High School
- Sprout Tonic, Mount Aspiring
- Shanga, Mount Aspiring
- The Sill, Southland Boys’ High School
The judging panel includes Kirsten Hoyle (South Port NZ Ltd), Tanya Hope (Findex NZ), Sheree Carey (Southland Business Chamber), Warrick Low (Vet South NZ), and Louise Evans (COIN South).
The winning team will represent the Southland region to vie for the title of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Company of the Year in a dragon’s den style National Final. Twenty-one regional champions from across New Zealand will compete at the final.
More than 4,700 students from 201 High Schools have taken part in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme this year, creating over 1000 real-life businesses between them. Local schools participating include Aparima College, James Hargest College, Mount Asipring College, Southland Boys’ High School, Wakitipu High School, Verdon College and Southland Girls’ High School.
The one-year programme gives students an authentic learning experience which develops their entrepreneurial mind-set and helps build transferable skills which are becoming increasingly sought after in employment.
The full list of regional winners to be announced at the Southland Regional Final include:
- Southland Company of the Year sponsored by Southern Institute of Technology
- Award for Sales & Marketing sponsored by Craigs Design & Print
- Award for Retail, Trade & Online Business sponsored by What’s On Invers
- Award for Innovation sponsored by Findex
- Award for Social Enterprise sponsored by South Port NZ Ltd
- Award for Primary Industries sponsored by VetSouth NZ
- Award for Paying Most Tax sponsored by Southland Business Chamber
- Award for the Biggest Fail sponsored by COIN South
- Southland Young Enterpriser of the Year sponsored by Community Trust South
- Colin Smith Memorial Award sponsored by ILT.
A very big thank you to our local family of sponsors for supporting the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) programme including Southern Institute of Technology, Findex, South Port NZ Ltd, Craigs Design & Print, COIN South, What’s on Invers, VetSouth, Community Trust South and ILT.
Click here to learn more about YES.