Entries are now open for the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards 2021 to celebrate the innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurial excellence of New Zealand’s rural communities.
Sponsoring Agency: Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ)
Type of Fund: Challenges, Competitions or Prizes
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 07/29/2021
Size of the Fund: Less than USD $50,000
Entries are now open for the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards 2021 to celebrate the innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurial excellence of New Zealand’s rural communities.
The NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards provide an outstanding opportunity to showcase small rurally based businesses owned and operated by women. The Awards attract extensive media coverage and promotional opportunities.
Category Information
• Emerging business: Awarded to a business starting out in its journey and achieving exceptional results. Open to businesses that have been running from 2 – 5 years.
• Love of the Land: Harnessing the potential of New Zealand’s land, environment or products of the land, to create a successful business enterprise.
• Creative Arts: A business specialising in the creative arts working in a rural environment or using rural materials.
• Innovation: An enterprise that challenges the status quo to bring something new and innovative to the market or utilising rural resources in an innovative way.
• Rural Champion: A person or business who champions the rural sector, a rural enterprise or provides a service to a rural community; an outstanding contributor who consistently goes above and beyond the norm in their support for the rural sector.
• Rural Health and Wellness Excellence: Recognising a business that makes an outstanding contribution to supporting the health and wellness of our rural communities in New Zealand.
• Bountiful Table: A rural business that embraces diverse and unique natural resources to deliver exceptional food and/or beverage.
• A Supreme winner who demonstrates excellence and outstanding achievement across all judging criteria will be chosen from the Category Finalists.
Benefits
• All winners in the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards receive free membership to Rural Women New Zealand / Ngā Wāhine Taiwhenua o Aotearoa for one year and join an organisation committed to supporting women and their rural communities.
• Category winners receive $1,000 prize money and a trophy which are presented at the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards Ceremony.
• The NZI Rural Women NZ Business Award Supreme Winner will receive a further $1,000 prize money.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to enter the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards 2021, you must:
• Be the owner/s and operator/s of a business based in rural New Zealand employing less than 30 full-time equivalent staff
• Take an active role in the day-to-day operation and management of your business
• Your business must have at least 50% ownership by women
• Previous winners of the Supreme Award at the Enterprising Rural Women Awards or the NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards may not enter again.
• Have owned or operated the business for at least two years as at the date of entry.
Judging Criteria
Each entry will be judged on the following criteria:
• Rural enterprise, innovation, point(s) of difference;
• Product and service quality, meeting compliance requirements, environmental awareness;
• Marketing and promotion including evidence that the business is moving forward;
• Financial performance, economic input into the rural community and adaptability during New Zealand’s response to COVID-19;
• Staff management and/or personal development;
• Community involvement.
The weight attributed to each of these criteria has been set by the Judging Panel and differs according to the Category.
More information at: https://ruralwomennz.nz/home/nzi-rural-women-nz-business-awards-2021/
Eligible Countries:
New Zealand
