EY Malta is now accepting nominations for the Malta Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The Award, now in its fourth year, recognises “unstoppable entrepreneurial achievements among individuals and companies that demonstrate vision, leadership and success”.

The eventual winners may head to Monaco in June 2021, COVID-19 permitting, to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award, an event that brings together national winners from more than 60 countries.

Previous participants and winners have included trail-blazing entrepreneurs from a wide range of enterprises such as Amazon, Cirque du Soleil and LinkedIn.

Past Maltese winners include Alfred Pisani from Corinthia Group, Angelo Xuereb from AX Holdings Ltd, and David Darmanin of Hotjar Ltd.

When asked about the award, last year’s winner David Darmanin said: “As entrepreneurs our job is to congratulate and lift up others, so it is great to have your own accomplishments celebrated amongst your peers for one special evening.”

The EY Rising Star award is also presented to an individual whose business is still relatively new but is already showing great potential. The winner of this award also attends the event in Monaco in June. Past winners include David Vella from Altaro Software, Shane Hunter from AquaBioTech Group, and Ben Remfrey from Praedium Consulting Malta Ltd.

Last year’s Rising Star, Ben Remfrey, spoke about winning the award: “The first emotion was humbling. Competing with so many like-minded people who have worked on their businesses and brought them to such a high standard is fantastic - but to actually win an award is amazing.”

Ronald Attard, EY Malta Country Managing Partner, said: “We want to celebrate the country’s most successful entrepreneurs and their impact on the economy and our community. Even though there will be just one winner, all local nominees should celebrate their success and ability to inspire others.”

The award is judged by an independent panel made up of key figures from the business community. To be eligible, nominees must be Maltese or have been operating a company based in Malta for at least two years. Anyone, including employees, company advisers and financiers, can nominate an entrepreneur, with the latter’s consent. Entrepreneurs may also directly nominate themselves.

The awards are sponsored by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, GRTU and Melita Ltd.