Eligibility For This Category

To be eligible, your company must meet the mandatory registration requirement plus at least two of the secondary criteria.

• Registered in NZ (Mandatory)
• Founded in NZ
• Global headquarters are in NZ
• At least 20% of your employees reside in NZ

You cannot enter this category if you have previously won it.

Entries Open in December 

In Entering This Category

You have developed a Hi-Tech company that has moved into an early revenue growth phase and had revenue of less than NZ$2 million for the calendar year ending 31 December 2026.

• You can provide evidence of at least one commercial sale (this excludes grants and investment) during the same period.
• You may be a very young company, or one that has taken several years to get out of the pre-commercialisation starting blocks.
• You will be able to tell an exciting story of innovation, market opportunity, competitive advantage and how you plan to achieve the goals you’ve set.
• Upon request, you can supply the judges with evidence to support any claims made in this entry.