Launching the Westpac-sponsored awards, Mr Christie said Otago was home to many great businesses and the awards were an opportunity to showcase their stories to wider audiences.
"We all read business success stories in the Otago Daily Times. This is an opportunity for the public to nominate businesses they believe are worthy of being promoted."
Otago was not good at celebrating commercial success, with its businesses preferring to keep their heads down and work hard, Mr Christie said.
The awards, held every two years, were a way of encouraging businesses to come forward with their own success stories.
The awards were divided into two main categories, business skill and business attribute, with sub-categories underneath ranging from business type, ethics, emerging business, sustainability, international trader, health and safety, research, innovation and design.
This year, a Maori business award had been introduced along with the opportunity for some businesses to go further and enter the performance excellence awards guided by the Baldrige excellence framework.
Bevan Rickerby has been appointed chairman of the judging panel.
The awards will be announced in November.
