Have you setup and grown a successful local business? Will your masterpiece have been active for at least two years by the 1st of January 2022?Or maybe you know a local entrepreneur who deserves to be recognised on a global scale?

If you’ve said yes to either of the above, then you should seriously consider checking out and applying for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This prestigious award has been around internationally for over 35 years, with the fifth edition to be held in Malta for 2022.

Previous Malta EOY winners include Alfred Pisani of Corinthia Group, Angelo Xuereb whose part of AX Holdings, David Darmanin for Hotjar, and Nazzareno Vassallo with Vassallo Group.

The only local award with a truly global dimension

All of the previous Maltese winners have gone on to participate in the World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) award, representing Malta on the biggest stage of them all! 

The Hall of Fame is an elite corps of men and women who have been recognized for their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements. Previous participants and winners have included trail-blazing entrepreneurs from a wide range of enterprises such as Amazon, Cirque du Soleil and LinkedIn.

The WEOY award is taking place next June in Monaco and the Malta EOY 2022 winner shall represent and compete on behalf of Malta together with the EOY winners from over another 50 countries! After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, EY are hoping to bring back their gala night and networking extravaganza back to where it belongs!

A second award goes to a promising Rising Star

If you feel that you are not quite ready to shoot your shot at the Entrepreneur Of The Year, applicants are also capable of winning EY’s Rising Star award.

This award is focused on a local up-and-comer who is already demonstrating fantastic results. Previous winners include David Vella (Altaro), Shane Hunter (AquaBioTech Group), Ben Remfrey (Praedium Consulting) and John Winfield (Dr. Juice).

The Judging Panel

The award is judged by an independent panel made up of key figures from the business community. It is led by the President of the Malta Chamber for Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the President of Malta Chamber of SMEs. Other key members include senior officials from Malta’s leading banks.

How do I apply? 

You can check out the full terms and conditions on EY’s website. But, the process is pretty simple, here’s what you need to do: 

1. Fill in the nomination form by the 14th of January 2022. 

You’ll need around 30mins to complete this step. This is where you have the chance to put everything down in writing.

Don’t be humble here, let the EY’s independent panel of judges know exactly what you have been through to get to where you are. 

2. After a selection process, you will be called in for an informal interview with an EY representative. 

Here you share your compelling story in-person. Notes will be taken during this interview which will be given to the judges right before they meet you.

This interview will take around 45mins of your time. Don’t worry, you’ve got this. 

3. Presentation and Q&A with the independent panel of judges. 

This pitch presentation should be 10 minutes long and it should highlight you and your business. Who are you? What is the business? How are you different? This will be followed by a 20 minutes Q&A with the panel of judges.

Don’t be scared to put the limelight on you, investors need to know what and who they are investing in. 

4. After this process, you get to attend the award ceremony in 2022. 

Details of the ceremony will be confirmed at a later stage but usually comprises of a celebrative evening event with fellow competitors as well as local business leaders and c-suite personnel.

So, what are you waiting for? 

Remember, this application is all about you and your successes, so strut your stuff! Make sure that you take a look at the application page so that you can pick up some tips and tricks to make your application stand out.

Remember, that even if you don’t win, you would have still gained access to an exclusive network, grown your brand awareness, started gaining recognition and also start building some strong relationships. Good luck!

Tag a budding business owner!