Electra Business &

Innovation Awards

Running continuously since 1993, the Electra Kapiti Horowhenua Business Awards are possibly the longest-running Regional Business Awards in New Zealand.

In 2020 the Awards were renamed to the Electra Business & Innovation Awards and are made up of industry-based categories.

The Awards will celebrate innovation, sustainability and best business practice across all industries and sectors in our regions. We are looking for businesses that can demonstrate they are ahead of the curve and meeting our rapidly changing world with fresh ideas and solution-focused attitudes.

The Industry Category Awards are the main awards with opt-in sub-category awards for New/Emerging and Small Business*.

*Please note you must, however, have entered an industry category first to be eligible to enter a sub-category.

Key Dates For 2024

  • 20th March - BKH AGM

  • 17th April - 2024 Launch Event

  • 9th April - Entries Open

  • 9th June - Entries Close

  • 3rd July - Kāpiti Entrants Event

  • 11th July - Horowhenua Entrants Event

  • 1st August - Awards Night Tickets on sale

  • 26th September - Awards Night Tickets close

  • 10th October - 2024 Awards Night

25th Electra Kapiti Horowhenua Business Awards Night

2024 Award Categories

Industry categories

  • Manufacturing, Production and Processing

  • Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism

  • Construction and Trades

  • Retail

  • Professional and Business Services, or Technology

  • Not for Profit, Community and Public Services

  • Consumer Services

  • Innovation

  • Environmental Sustainability

Sub-categories

  • New/Emerging Award (Less than 3 years in operation)

  • Small Business Award (0-11 FTE’s)

Electra Business of the Year

Hall of fame

Customer Experience Award (Horowhenua & Kāpiti)

Industry category definitions

Manufacturing, Production and Processing

For those businesses working in manufacturing, production and processing. This can be agriculture, horticulture, manufacturing of food or any other manufacturing based business with production as the core component of its offering. Businesses include things like food and drink manufacturers, product manufacturing like clothing, household or construction items, cosmetic or health care products.

Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism

This is a service-based category where the core component is to provide food, beverage, entertainment or tourism excursion/activities/products to its customers. Businesses include things like cafes, restaurants, bars, tourism activities, accommodation, event businesses and venues.

Construction and Trades

This category is for those that are in construction or trade industries these include things like builders, plumbers, electricians, civil construction, roading and many more. If you are providing expertise in a specific trade then this is the category for you.

Retail

The Retail award is for businesses selling products direct to its customers. This can be any type of product and can be sold either online or through a physical location. This category celebrates the diversity of Kāpiti and Horowhenua’s retail businesses. 

Professional and Business Services, or Technology

The Professional and Business Services, or Technology Award is mostly a business-to-business category where businesses provided professional services such as accountants, lawyers, HR, along with technology-based businesses IT, web developers and software developers.

Not for Profit, Community and Public Services

This category is aimed at the community sector. Are you a charitable trust, incorporated society or a social enterprise doing great things in the community sector? Then this is the category for you! This also includes those providing community services such as doctors and schools.

Consumer Services

This Award focuses on the consumer services that businesses provide. This includes personal service-based businesses like hairdressers, beauty therapists, optometrists, dentists and other personal service providers that operate from a consumer-facing premise.

Innovation Award

This category acknowledges a business that shows outstanding innovation and a forward-thinking approach within their business

Environmental Sustainability Award

This award recognises a business that is working with a focus and ongoing demonstration towards environmental sustainability across their business activities.

Sub-categories:

New/Emerging Award

This Award is for businesses less than 3 years in operation as of January 2024. The Judges will be looking for excellence across all entry sections regardless of the industry category entered.

Small Business Award

This Award is for businesses with 0-11 FTEs. The Judges will be looking for excellence across all entry sections regardless of the industry category entered.

Electra Business of the Year

The cream of the crop for 2024, this business will have demonstrated excellence in business across all areas of their business, operating at the highest of industry standards. This much coveted, supreme award recognises the business that has risen to the top!.

Hall of Fame

A recipient for the Hall of Fame will be recognised in both the Kāpiti and Horowhenua regions.

Our Awards

Our awards are firmly based on the international Business Excellence model the Baldrige framework, and entrants undergo a robust assessing and judging processes against set criteria designed to be useful for kiwi SMEs.

Businesses, not-for-profit or other organisations can enter as long as they have identified ‘customers’.  Customer are people or entities which the business focuses on to deliver services too.

Entrants need to complete an entry form across all 9 key business areas identified, answers are then assessed against these and receive a score and a feedback report accordingly.

1.  What you do

2. Businessstrategy

3. Goals and objectives

4. Implementation

5. Staff engagement

6. Customer satisfaction

7. Innovation and creativity

8. Impacts and benefits

9. Sustainability

Electra Business of the Year

The overall ‘Electra Business of the Year’ is selected from the winners across all the awards categories in the Excellence & Innovation Awards.

Assessing and Judging

Access to the 2024 entry form to be released soon..

Entrants are assessed by BKH Judges, who are experts in their fields and will judge the relevant questions and provide score sets and feedback accordingly.

After all assessing and voting is complete, the Judges meet to decide the finalists. Once the finalists have been selected, the judges will meet with each finalist for the second round of judging - Judges visits, where the winners will be identified. The Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The Judges also maintain an independent overview of the entire awards process, to ensure its overall quality, impartiality, and robustness.