Start-ups/Women Entrepreneurs

This category celebrates the visionaries, trailblazers, and change makers who are redefining the future of business. It honours both innovative start-ups that are making waves in their industries, and women entrepreneurs who are leading with purpose, resilience, and creativity.

Start-up Excellence Award
Recognizing emerging businesses that have demonstrated outstanding innovation, market disruption, and rapid growth. This award honours founders and start-up teams that are solving real-world problems, creating value, and showing strong potential for long-term impact and scalability.
Women Entrepreneur of the Year
Celebrating exceptional women leaders who have founded or led enterprises with distinction. This award acknowledges their entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and contributions to driving gender diversity, economic empowerment, and community development.

Whether disrupting traditional industries or creating new markets, nominees in this category embody the spirit of entrepreneurship—bold, visionary, and transformative.

Eligibility Criteria

For Start-ups:

The company must be registered and operational for at least 1 year and not more than 3 years at the time of nomination.
The business should offer innovative products, services, or business models with a scalable and sustainable approach.
Must be able to demonstrate traction in terms of customers, revenue, partnerships, or funding.
Open to founders/co-founders or core leadership team members of the start-up.

For Women Entrepreneurs:

- The nominee must be a female founder, co-founder, or business owner who has led the enterprise for at least 1 year.
- The business can be at any stage (start-up, SME, or established) but must show active leadership and decision-making by the woman entrepreneur.
- Open to women across industries, including technology, manufacturing, services, social enterprise, and more.

Criteria

Open to licensed architects, certified interior designers, or design firms actively engaged in architecture or interior design projects.

Experience

Individual nominees must have a minimum of 1 year of professional experience in the architecture or interior design field.

Project Completion

Must have completed at least one major project (residential, commercial, institutional, hospitality, or industrial) within the last 3 years.

Compliance & Accreditation

Must be registered with a recognized professional body or council (e.g., COA, IIID, AIA, etc.) or hold valid professional certifications/
licensure in the country of operation.