Ara celebrates young entrepreneurs at YES regional finals
29 October, 2025
"Solving problems and building futures"
The regional winners were annoucned at Te Puna Wānaka on the city campus at Ara
Ara Institute of Canterbury proudly hosted the 2025 Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Canterbury Regional Finals on Friday night, celebrating a vibrant showcase of innovation, sustainability, and social impact from high school entrepreneurs across the region.
Months of painstaking work from 182 entries from 619 high school students saw 2025 register as the biggest YES regional event yet. The calendar has been full of concept development, the YES regional summit and business challenges as the teams vied for a spot in the regional finals.
In a final pitch round, twelve regional finalists were selected to present their ventures to a panel of judges including Jonathan Brooks (Schooled), Rachel Triplow (Duncan Cotterill), Erica Austin (Ako Ōtautahi), Maureen Taane (HAPA Ltd), and Ric Thorpe (Sidekick).
Two standout teams - Cattle Credit from Cashmere High School (Ōtakaro South) and Deluxe Detailing from Rangiora High School (Ōtakaro North) - were selected to represent the region at the upcoming YES National Awards on December 4th in Wellington.
YES Regional Co-ordinator Ara’s Idoia Alday Gonzalez with Cattle Credit's Cairo Akehurst
Cattle Credit has created a satellite-powered methane monitoring system helping farmers meet climate targets. Deluxe Detailing is a vehicle cleaning service provider.
In addition, Cattle Credit and FIX (an educational advocacy service from Ao Tawhiti school) earned national recognition awards, and an invitation to hear details of their wins at the Wellington event.
The regional celebration also featured the presentation of excellence awards, recognising outstanding achievements in business disciplines such as finance, innovation, sustainability, and social enterprise.
(L-R) MC Elisa Harley with Ruby Grace from FIX, David Moore and Murphy Howard from Deluxe Detailing with YES Co-ordinator Regan Powell
Among the standout winners was Maddi Scott of Te Aratai College, who received both the Rising Star Award and the Spirit of YES Award for her leadership and resilience through The Purple Project, a social enterprise raising funds for Youthline through handmade fidget keyrings. Maddi’s journey exemplified the heart of YES - turning challenges into opportunity and inspiring others through action.
“This year’s cohort showed remarkable depth - not just in business acumen, but in values,” said Ara’s Idoia Alday Gonzalez, Canterbury Regional Coordinator for YES. “We’re seeing YES become a breeding ground for ventures with a strong community or sustainability focus and a place where young women CEOs are thriving. The future of business is being shaped right here,” she said.
Other notable winners included:
• Whakaroa Whakaroa (Burnside High School), recipient of both the Enterprising Technology Award and Innovation Award, for their unique beverage line blending Māori botanicals with NZ fruit concentrates using distillery techniques.
• Bloombombs (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School), winner of Best Annual Review, for their biodegradable seed bombs designed to reconnect tamariki with nature through playful gardening.
• Cattle Credit (Cashmere High School) awarded Sustainability Excellence
• Bark and Purr Co. (Rangiora High School) was honoured with the Finance Award for their eco-friendly pet products and commitment to supporting Blind Low Vision NZ.
• Raulf Jean (Rolleston College), winner of both the Social Enterprise Award and Ara Excellence Award for Customer and Market Engagement, for their fibre art workshops promoting wellbeing and self-expression among rangatahi. They also took out the deeply meaningful Social Good Award – Patrick Willam Memorial Trophy.
Award winners Maddi Scott (left) and the team behind Whakaora Whakaora (right)
Longtime YES supporter and first-time regional judge Erica Austin praised the calibre of ventures: “These young entrepreneurs are not just solving problems - they’re building futures. The creativity, compassion, and commercial thinking on display tonight was truly inspiring,” Austin said.
As the regional finals concluded, Canterbury’s top teams now prepare to take the national stage, carrying with them the spirit of innovation, resilience, and community that defines YES.
An armful of awards for Raulf Jean's Kit Young alongside mentor of the year Jaz Rule (The Kind Foundation)