Momentum Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 Award

Submissions are now closed!

Thank you so much for submitting your applications, we’re blown away by your incredible work!

We now have three amazing finalists for this year’s award. Thank you all so much again for taking part!

If you missed it this year, keep an eye out for this time next year. Here’s a reminder of what we’re looking for and what’s up for grabs:

Momentum recognises highly motivated New Zealand tertiary students who have made significant progress developing their idea, who have created an innovative business through technology licensing, who have created a start-up, or who have provided expertise to support innovation.

Together with our sponsors, we want to make sure that you, our Kiwi innovators, get as much recognition and support as possible.

Prize Package:

1st place:

Attendance at the Angel Association New Zealand (AANZ) Summit in February 2024 in Auckland (flights and accommodation provided if necessary)

Attendance at the Angel Association New Zealand (AANZ) Runway Event (flights and accommodation provided if necessary)

Runners-up:

Mentorship workshops covering:

  • Governance

  • U.S. Markets

  • Intellectual property

  • How to pitch

Key Dates:

Applications close: 12th July

1st round of judging (Zoom interview): 16th - 19th July

Filming for KiwiNet Awards (finalists): TBD

2nd round of judging: 14th August

Finalists announced: 18th August

KiwiNet Awards Night: 9th October

Terms and Conditions:

Information provided in this application will be used to support the judging panel to select finalists.

We may also share the information anonymously with MBIE for reporting purposes. Information is kept only as long as required to fulfil these purposes.

The Prize Package is subject to availability of the winner.

You have the right to request access and correction to your personal information. To do so, email dianna.truong@auckland.ac.nz

FAQs

  • You do not have to be a current student, however, you will have had to have been a student in the past 12 months.

  • The Angel Association New Zealand (AANZ) Summit is New Zealand’s flagship angel investing event of the year. This will be a knowledge-sharing and networking event for everyone across the investment and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

    AANZ is our local champion for early stage investment. It aims to increase the quantity, quality, and success of angel investment in New Zealand and in doing so create a greater pool of capital for innovative start-up companies.

  • An angel investor (also known as a private investor, seed investor or angel funder) is a high-net-worth individual who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company. The funds that angel investors provide may be a one-time investment to help the business get off the ground or an ongoing injection to support and carry the company through its difficult early stages.

  • The workshop dates will be aligned with the finalists’ availability.

  • Don’t worry, initial interviews will be held on Zoom. And if you are selected as a finalist, travel and accomodation will be covered for filming and attending the KiwiNet Awards.

Award Sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors for their continued collaboration.

SEOTY is an initiative created by Auckland UniServices Ltd flagship Momentum Programme and is sponsored by Matū Group. Matū is a venture capital fund targeting early-stage science and technology ideas. They invest funds through a hands-on approach, and have a vision to get research out of the lab and into the real-world.

2019 was the inaugural year that this award was included as one of the KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards. Kiwi Innovation Network (KiwiNet) believes in the power of New Zealand science to transform lives and change the world.