Click an award to view videos
The Young Business Mind Awards (YBMA) has been rewarding young people for their big ideas since 2017 and is all about encouraging students and schools in the Hunter to think like entrepreneurs, to express their creativity and develop the self-confidence to present their ideas.
The awards program, will see our region’s youngest innovators and entrepreneurs have their ideas for a business, product, service or solution brought to life, recognised and rewarded by local business leaders and with winners being mentored to take their ideas further long after the awards are over.
Our aim is to help our young people to develop the skill sets required to prosper in the rapidly changing contemporary business and employment environment.
Open to students and schools across the Hunter including Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Upper and Lower Hunter, and Port Stephens. Teachers are also encouraged to enter their own innovation in the classroom project for their chance to win.
In 2024 the Young Business Mind Awards attracted 44 entries from 150 student and teacher participants from 13 primary and secondary schools across the Hunter region. Watch our video below to learn more or head to our past winner videos to see what it takes to be a winner!
YBMA is dedicated to encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in youth and recognising it in teacher innovators. Students enter a business idea, design a new product, showcase a community or creative project to win cash prizes for themselves and their school, trophies or medallions and industry mentorship. Teachers can enter for innovation in the classroom.
Students and/or teachers are encouraged to explore the concepts of innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, business and social enterprise and look to create their own ‘big idea’. There are resources available to assist with this process as well as the opportunity to have a Career Links staff member visit the school to give a short presentation and to answer any questions.
Just for the under 13’s – enter into any category. You can also take out the other prizes as well!
Wow us with your videography skills and be creative with your pitch!
This will be awarded to a person or team that we think deserves to be acknowledged for their fabulous attempt!
This award goes to the absolute standout of the competition!
*And of course, TEACHERS – Enter for Innovation in the Classroom.
Participants in 2025 are required to specify if they are entering as part of their school or independently of school. If they are entering as part of their school, the school will win cash and a school trophy, if they are entering independently, the school will not receive any prizes.
Winners from secondary schools will also be given the opportunity to attend the Hunter Innovation Festival in 2026.
All winners will be given the opportunity to be mentored by industry professionals appropriate to their project over the course of the next 12 months.
| Category | School Prize | Student/s Prize | Independent Student Prize (No School Prizes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innovation | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| Community Project | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| Sustainability Award | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| StartUp Business | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| Business Idea | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| STEAM Award | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $100 + trophy + certificate |
| Additional Primary School Award | $200 + school trophy | $50 + certificate + medallion | $50 + certificate + medallion |
| Most Creative Video | $50 + certificate + medallion | $50 + certificate + medallion | |
| Encouragement Award | $50 + certificate + medallion | $50 + certificate + medallion | |
| Teacher Award | $200 + certificate + medallion | ||
| YBM of the Year | $200 + school trophy | $200 + certificate + medallion | $200 + certificate + trophy |
Explore the online resources to learn more about categories, business models, how to pitch & idea creation.
Create your BIG IDEA, practice your pitch and film your 2 – 4 min video.
Attend the awards ceremony in November to find out if you’ve won!
Judges will also consider the feasibility of the project to implement, it’s originality, whether or not it addresses a societal/environmental problem and whether or not the pitch is clear and concise.
The YBMA are made possible through the support of Hunter businesses like yours. This is a unique opportunity to promote your organisation while supporting the next generation.
As a YMBA sponsor, you have the chance to show your confidence in young people within the Hunter region and their development as creators, innovators and entrepreneurs of the future.
Identify your business as a leader in innovation across the categories being awarded. Support young people and be a part of the development and empowerment of our region’s NextGen innovators, creators and business leaders. It’s time to lift up our youth, to help them grow and prosper in a way that meets the future demands of our rapidly changing contemporary business and employment environment. Our kids deserve no less.
We are currently seeking sponsorship for the 2025 YBMA. Download the Partnership Prospectus here or contact us to discuss a bespoke collaboration.
“From what I’ve seen here tonight, there’s plenty of very impressive young minds that are going to be solving the world’s problems in the years ahead.”
The Young Business Mind Awards thanks the following sponsors and partners for their continued support.
Get your hands on these awesome free resources that will help you create a winning pitch.
The Business Models breakdown is a great resource to help you choose a model for your idea. Use this guide along with the pitch preparation resource to create a strong video pitch for the awards.
The entrepreneur world is full of terms and acronyms that can be confusing so to help you learn more about the entrepreneurship mindset we’ve put this document together to help you learn common terms used within business.
Validation is the process of testing your product or service to increase the likelihood of success. The reason you need to validate a business idea is to avoid producing a product or service that no one wants. This guide will help you to validate your business idea.
Preparing your pitch before you film it is a good idea. A good pitch is extremely important and can be the deciding factor in getting support for your business idea or program. Use this to guide you through the pitch process.
This toolkit will support Primary school aged students to think about and identify an environmental challenge to solve but the concepts can be used to build ideas for any category.
This toolkit will support Primary school aged students to identify their ‘secret sauce’ and find solutions to an environmental challenge. Again, the concepts can be used to find solutions for any category.
This toolkit will support Primary school aged students to present their solution for the YBMA! It is the final of three toolkits.
YBMA Young Preneur Magazine
Fun and Free!
