Each participant received a $1000 Massey University Scholarship, and the winners of each business challenge were awarded an additional $3000 scholarship.

Throughout the weekend, students were mentored in teams by 1 of 11 leading New Zealand organisations such as One NZ, XERO, Grant Thornton and Spark. On Saturday the teams worked from their company host premises experiencing firsthand what it’s like working in an office environment, a highlight for a number of students who had not previously visited Wellington.

On Friday, they tackled the “Embracing Tomorrow Challenge,” issued on Friday morning by the CEO of Young Enterprise, Alex Bullot. They spent the day working from Massey University’s Design School where they completed a business plan and prepared their pitches before presenting to the judging panel at 6:30 pm that evening. In teams, the students were mentored by their designated corporate host mentors and ‘YES Experts’ who helped them harness their innovative thinking to address the task of reimagining entrepreneurial education in New Zealand.  Head of YES, Ian Musson, reflected on day 1 of the programme saying, “The first challenge required a huge level of teamwork, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset for teams to think big about future-focused solutions to the education space in New Zealand.”

Team VML took out first place for challenge one. The winning team members were Alize Ross-Aria (Hastings Girls High School), Hailey Helwes (Green Bay High School), Izaac Foster (Bayfield High School), Lachlan Mead (Homeschool), Michelle Lye (Rangi Ruru Girls School) and Verity Hogan (Campion College), who were mentored by VML hosts, Aroha Gell and Amanda Howe, as well as their YES alumni mentor, Esta Chaplin.

The second challenge, issued Friday evening by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, gave teams 48 hours to form a market entry strategy for a Kiwi skincare brand. Team Asia New Zealand Foundation took first place with its strategic proposal to expand the company into the Chinese market. The winning team members were Emily Rowe (Cashmere High School), Fletcher Lochead (Palmerston North Boys High School), Joey Hung (Manurewa High School), Noah Curtis (Mount Albert Grammar School), Ollie Tangey (Bayfield High School), and Violet Dominikovich (Craighead Diocesan School), who were mentored by five Asia New Zealand representatives and alumni mentor, Fred Sugden.

CEO of Young Enterprise Trust, Alex Bullot, said “We design EIA to develop students’ soft skills which are becoming increasingly sought after by employers. This four-day immersive learning experience throws students into the deep end to collaborate with people they have just met in an intense, fast-paced environment. This full-on experience sets them up well for approaching their next steps post-secondary school, whether moving into tertiary study, employment or continuing their entrepreneurial journey.”

Participants in EIA were chosen from the 5000+participants of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme that spans the entire school year. Of those 5000+ students, 189 applied to compete in the event with only the top 60 students being selected from across New Zealand. Each geographic region in New Zealand has at least one representative competing in EIA.

Corporate hosts for the event included: Asia NZ Foundation, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Grant Thornton, Hospitality NZ, The King’s Trust, Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, One NZ, Spark, VML, and, XERO. 

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