- ProgrammeGolden Entrepreneur Awards
- Who is nominatedIndividual leaders
- ScopeInternational — Hong Kong eligible
- Track recordFounded 2021 in Dubai
- Nomination feeFrom USD 299 · packages
- 2026 close15 September 2026
- Winners announcedSaturday, 14 November 2026, Dubai
Who it is for. Founders and co-founders of businesses headquartered or operating in Hong Kong, at any stage and in any sector. What it judges. The venture's traction, innovation, resilience and reach, and the founder's part in it, in one of 24 categories — start-up, young, emerging, high-growth, tech, fintech, e-commerce, digital, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, social impact, sustainable business, serial. Cost and dates. From USD 299; entries close on 15 September 2026.
Golden Tree Events LLC founded the Golden Entrepreneur Awards in 2021 to recognise entrepreneurs whose ventures show growth, innovation and resilience; the official site is goldenentrepreneurawards.com. The company is the evidence; the founder is the nominee.
Hong Kong founders come in several kinds: the incubated — Cyberport, the Science Park, the universities' spin-out programmes; the financed — venture and family-office money that has always been close at hand; the cross-boundary — engineering in Shenzhen, headquarters in Hong Kong, markets in the Greater Bay Area and beyond; the serial — second and third companies after an exit or a listing; and the inheritors — heirs who have turned a family trading or manufacturing business into something its founders would not recognise. The 24 categories place each of them where their evidence is strongest.
Who should participate
Eligible nominees are founders and co-founders at any stage:
- Founders and co-founders of startups and scale-ups
- Owner-entrepreneurs of SMEs and family businesses
- Serial entrepreneurs and venture builders
- Social entrepreneurs and innovators
Where Hong Kong founders most often enter
Every sector qualifies. These are the industries with a dedicated founder category or the largest concentrations of founder-led companies in Hong Kong.
Startups
Cyberport and Science Park ventures, fintech and biotech founders, GBA-facing start-ups, family businesses reinvented — founder and company categories.
Awards for this industryTechnology
Fintech and virtual banks, regulated Web3, AI at Science Park and Cyberport, regional tech HQs, GBA-linked product companies — 75 categories.
Awards for this industryFinance
Central's banks, HKEX-linked firms, asset and wealth managers, family offices, insurers, virtual banks, licensed fintech and virtual-asset platforms — 75 finance categories.
Awards for this industryEcommerce / Online Portals
Online supermarkets and marketplaces, cross-border e-commerce sellers and enablers, delivery and quick commerce, property, job and booking portals — 75 categories.
Awards for this industryRestaurant / F & B
Michelin rooms, dim sum houses, cha chaan tengs, private kitchens, world-list bars, cafés and caterers — 130 categories.
Awards for this industryRetail
Luxury on Canton Road and in Central, the great malls, supermarket and convenience chains, electronics and lifestyle retail, home-grown brands — 75 categories.
Awards for this industryHealth Care
Private hospitals and clinic groups, specialist and dental practices, biotech and pharma, digital health, elderly and home care — 75 healthcare categories.
Awards for this industryEducation & Training
International schools, world-ranked universities, tutorial and enrichment centres, kindergartens, corporate training, edtech — 75 categories.
Awards for this industryLogistics & Transportation
HKIA air cargo and forwarders, Kwai Tsing port and shipping, cross-boundary and GBA logistics, 3PL, cold chain, last mile and transport — 75 categories.
Awards for this industryTraders
Trading houses, sourcing and buying offices, importers and distributors, re-exporters, watch, jewellery and electronics trade, cross-boundary trading.
Awards for this industryBeauty & Cosmetics
Beauty retail chains and Causeway Bay floors, home-grown skincare brands, salons and nail studios, aesthetic clinics, cross-border beauty e-commerce.
Awards for this industryMarketing & Advertising
Network regional HQs, independent creative and digital agencies, PR and financial communications, media owners and out-of-home, in-house teams.
Awards for this industry
Nominate a Hong Kong founder
Twenty-four founder categories, an independent jury, one form; investors, co-founders and advisers may nominate.
What to send: a founder nomination from Hong Kong
Numbers and dates. Traction — customers, users, revenue or bookings and their growth, indexed if needed. Reach — Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, the region, and the share of business in each. Capital and milestones — incubation programmes, grants, rounds, licences, listings, with dates. Innovation — what is new and proof that it was adopted. Resilience — how the venture came through 2019–2023 is evidence, not a confession. Contribution — mentoring, ecosystem work, local hiring and training.
Pair the founder with the company: the Asia Best of Best Awards' start-up categories or the World Technology Awards for the venture, this programme for the person, under one Diamond package. Women founders can add the Golden Women Awards.
Golden Entrepreneur Awards categories
24 official categories are mapped to this programme in the supplied category list.
All industries 24 categories
- Best Entrepreneur of the Year
- Best Startup Entrepreneur
- Best Innovative Entrepreneur
- Best Growth Entrepreneur
- Best Tech Entrepreneur
- Best Digital Entrepreneur
- Best Serial Entrepreneur
- Best Emerging Entrepreneur
- Best Young Entrepreneur
- Best Global Entrepreneur
- Best Social Impact Entrepreneur
- Best Sustainable Business Entrepreneur
- Best FinTech Entrepreneur
- Best E-commerce Entrepreneur
- Best Real Estate Entrepreneur
- Best Hospitality Entrepreneur
- Best Healthcare Entrepreneur
- Best Manufacturing Entrepreneur
- Best Marketing Entrepreneur
- Best Business Expansion Entrepreneur
- Best Product Innovation Entrepreneur
- Best Customer-Centric Entrepreneur
- Best High-Growth Entrepreneur
- Best Industry Leader Entrepreneur
Category names are shown exactly as published. The awards team confirms final category fit during profile completion.
Nomination requirements & evidence
Nominations are assessed on the information and evidence submitted. Useful material includes:
- Founding story, business model and traction over time
- Revenue, customer, funding or employment growth
- Products, services or models that are genuinely new to the market
- Resilience: pivots, market entries, crises navigated
- Job creation, community or sustainability contribution
- Investor, customer or partner testimonials and media coverage
Judging & selection process
Every nomination moves through the same published stages. Public voting is not used and commercial purchases carry no weight.
- New nomination
The nomination is received and registered against the relevant award programme.
- Profile completion
The nominee profile and required information are completed.
- Team approval
Eligibility and profile suitability are reviewed.
- Final jury data
Additional information required for evaluation is collected.
- Jury / management review
The nomination is evaluated against the applicable criteria.
- Finalist
Eligible strong nominations may progress to the finalist stage.
- Winner or closed
A finalist may be assigned an appropriate winning category, or the nomination is closed with a reason.
Fees & costs
Nomination packages are identical across the network's programmes and priced in USD. Winner packages are optional and available only to confirmed winners.
Silver
- 1 award · 1 category
- Competition level: Country
- Standard nominee listing
- Support: Email
Gold
- 1 award · 2 in 1 award categories
- Competition level: Country
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Diamond
- 2 awards · 2 across awards categories
- Competition level: Country
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Platinum
- 2 awards · 3 per award categories
- Competition level: Country & Regional
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Titanium
- 3 awards · 3 per award categories
- Competition level: Country, Regional & World
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Paying any fee never guarantees winning. Award credits are valid for the same-year programme only. Full fee details.
2026 dates
Published timeline for the 2026 cycle:
- May 2026Nominations open
The 2026 nomination window opens to eligible companies and leaders worldwide.
- 30 July 2026Early window closes
Last date for early-entry submissions.
- 15 September 2026Nominations close
Final published deadline for all 2026 entries.
- 3rd–4th week of September 2026Jury review
Independent jury / management evaluation of every eligible nomination.
- October 2026Shortlist (internal)
Finalists are confirmed and winners notified privately.
- 14 November 2026Gala ceremony — winners announced
Winners revealed and celebrated at the annual gala in Dubai.
Winners are announced live at the gala in Dubai. Nominees in Hong Kong are notified privately in October.
Founder and venture, one package
Diamond (USD 980) covers the founder here and the company in the Asia Best of Best Awards or a sector programme.
- Pre-revenue ventures judged on traction and innovation
- Cross-boundary businesses judged on the Hong Kong-run company
- Announced in Dubai on 14 November 2026
Related awards to consider
Programmes founders pair with this one:
Asia Best of Best Awards
For the venture — 75 start-up categories at Asia level.
Golden Entrepreneur Awards — FAQs for Hong Kong nominees
Pre-revenue?
Eligible; the start-up, emerging and young categories are judged on traction, innovation and growth.
Company in Hong Kong, engineers in Shenzhen?
Eligible; describe operations and markets by location.
Two co-founders?
Separate nominations; Gold covers more categories, Diamond two awards.
Young founders?
Best Young Entrepreneur exists.
Exited and started again?
Best Serial Entrepreneur exists for that record.
Cost?
USD 299 for one category; USD 980 for founder plus company; up to USD 1,750.
Deadline?
15 September 2026; results in Dubai on 14 November 2026.
Public vote?
None.
Last reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Award facts sourced from the official programme publications.