Budding Rockstars, an initiative organised by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA), was identified as the Section ‘A’ winning entry for this year’s National Enterprise Support Awards (NESA), overseen by the Commerce Department. The prize of €10,000 was presented to President George Vella as a donation to the Community Chest Fund Foundation. A further €5,000 will be donated following this year’s iteration of Budding Rockstars. 

The Budding Rockstars event is an annual educational conference aimed at promoting tech entrepreneurship as a viable career path. The one-day conference comprises inspiring TED-style talks by top local tech entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as animated panel discussions. These are followed by hands-on entrepreneurship workshops led by the Edward de Bono Institute and a pitching competition for participating students. 

The event seeks to expose students to the exciting world of entrepreneurship and to instil a yearning to change the world through technology-driven innovation. The event is typically organised to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, between late October and early November.  

To date 600 students and 200 educators have experienced Budding Rockstars. The event leveraged the insight and experience of more than 30 speakers, all successful entrepreneurs and leaders in the growing domain of technology business. The fifth edition of Budding Rockstars will be held in November, under the responsibility of Tech.mt. 

This year’s event will be open for a wider pool of students and educators. The NESA seek to foster more awareness on the importance of entrepreneurship, both on a local and on a national level. They seek to identify and recognise successful activities and initiatives undertaken to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship; to showcase and share examples of best entrepreneurship policies and practices; to create a greater awareness of the role entrepreneurs play in society; and to encourage and inspire potential entrepreneurs. 

The NESA form part of the European Enterprise Support Awards.