An allergy-management app designed to help people navigate everyday situations has taken top honours in a Sunshine Coast entrepreneurship challenge.
The 2026 Generation Innovation Challenge culminated in Pitch Night on September 2, when finalists presented the ventures they had spent months developing through mentoring, customer research, masterclasses and business planning.
Local entrepreneur Julia Rejman was crowned the winner for Allergy Arc, an app designed to give people greater confidence managing allergies at home, school, work, restaurants and other environments.
The app brings together allergy and medication information, trigger and reaction tracking and emergency functionality, along with tools to help other people recognise and respond to an allergic reaction.
Ms Rejman was one of three finalists selected from 10 ventures that took part in this year’s challenge.
Zeke Pari, with MESR, and Christian Fernando, with InvestiGate, were named runners-up after the finalists delivered their pitches and faced questions from a judging panel of business and community leaders.
MESR aims to change the way public infrastructure is inspected by using vision-based technology to scan infrastructure and identify and analyse defects.
The venture is designed to help automate a traditionally manual inspection process.
Meanwhile, InvestiGate is a gamified financial education app aimed at helping secondary students learn how to invest and develop sustainable financial habits.
Now in its 12th year, the GI Challenge was established in response to rising youth unemployment on the Sunshine Coast and aimed to create new pathways and opportunities for young people.
Each year, participants aged between 15 and 21 are given access to mentoring, business education and connections with members of the local business community as they work to develop their ideas.
Generation Innovation chair Shane Cunningham remarked on the “extraordinary calibre” of this year’s GI entrepreneurs.
“We’re incredibly proud of what our 2026 entrepreneurs have achieved and the growth they’ve shown throughout the challenge,” he said.
The finalists were assessed by Youi CEO Nat Simpson, Regional Development Australia Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast CEO Paul Fisher, BeWell Brands and Jetts Fitness group CFO Cheryl Ling, Walker Corporation senior development manager Chris Graham and Sunshine Coast Council economic development manager Angela Lisle.
Three other participants were recognised with the 2026 Spirit of GI Award.
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Amaia Van Zuydam, Ozzy Clarke and Sebastian Roach received the award for their contributions throughout the challenge and the way they embodied the values and spirit of Generation Innovation.
Ms Van Zuydam took part with Connection Kit, an idea designed to give parents and carers of neurodivergent children clearer direction and accessible, play-based tools to support development.
Mr Clarke and Mr Roach competed with StudyBuddy, a learning support platform designed to help students study more effectively through personalised tools and resources.
The GI Challenge is a free entrepreneurship program supporting young people to turn ideas into viable businesses through mentoring, skills development and connections with the local business community.
