Call for Entries: Xero Beautiful Business Fund

Categories

• Innovating for sustainability
  • This category is for a small business or non profit who wants to take the next step in their environmental sustainability journey by: minimising their own environmental impact; enhancing the sustainability of current products or services; or developing new environmentally friendly products or services.
• Trailblazing with technology
  • This category is for a small business or non profit that has a ‘future focus’ mindset and is seeking to innovate. These businesses/organisations are adaptive, creative and resilient and know technology can help them thrive. They want to set the pace and lead the charge using new and emerging technologies that can supercharge their business into the future or disrupt the status quo.
• Strengthening community connection
  • This category is for a small business or non profit who has a mission or purpose rooted in serving their communities and making a positive impact. These changemakers could be striving to make a difference in a community they serve, supporting underserved or marginalised groups or contributing to social good through innovative ideas or solutions.
• Upskilling for the future
  • This category is for a small business or non profit who wants to overcome a skills gap — either through upskilling for themselves or their employees. These businesses/organisations have a growth-mindset and see a path forward with greater access to training and professional development.

Prize Information

• The Xero Beautiful Business Fund offers more than NZ$750,000 in funding to winning small businesses. Funding will be awarded to winners at a country and global level.
• There will be four winners from each country (1 in each category), determined by judging panels in each country. Each winner will receive NZ$20,000 in funding (or equivalent currency).
• The pool of country winners (28 winners total) will be evaluated by a global judging panel who will select 4 global winners (1 in each category). Each winner will receive an additional global prize of NZ$50,000 in funding (or equivalent currency).
• Here is the the country prize breakdown:
  • United States x 4 winners $12,500
  • Canada x 4 winners $15,000
  • South Africa x 4 winners R250,000
  • New Zealand x 4 winners $20,000
  • United Kingdom x 4 winners £10,000
  • Singapore x 4 winners $15,000
  • Australia x 4 winners $20,000

Eligibility Criteria

• You are a Xero small business customer who:
  • Is located in one of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, Canada (excluding Quebec), South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, or Australia.
  • Has between 1-50 employees.
  • Is a paying Xero subscriber (either directly or via a Xero accounting or bookkeeping partner) at the time of entry and at the time of announcement of the winners, which will take place at the end of October 2024.
  • Is operating on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis.
  • Complete and submit your entry, including an online form and record and upload a 90-second pitch video. This can be done by either the business owner or a designated employee.

For more information, visit Xero.