The Mind Lab founder Frances Valintine, Wiki New Zealand creator Lillian Grace and Wipster CEO Rollo Wenlock are among the Kiwi startup stars shortlisted by Australia’s Talent International in its Talent Unleashed award series.

The awards have five categories: Rising Star, Digital Content, Community Impact, Best Startup, Inspirational Leadership, and are all about publicising big ideas from entrepreneurs and leaders.

“While we often hear about the industry’s corporate leaders, it has always occurred to us that the technology sector is really driven by many fantastic, yet unheralded individuals who are inventive, inspirational, and genuinely passionate about making a difference,” says Richard Earl, Talent International founder and managing director.

Network for Learning’s Chris South and Chalkle’s CEO Silvia Zuur join Wenlock in the Digital Content category. Wipster focuses on video collaboration in the cloud, while Chalkle is an education platform. Network for Learning is New Zealand’s managed network for schools.

Joshua Harrington, founder of education management system Mepo has been named a rising star, along with Tom Wallace of cloud property management company Re-leased. Grace was recognised for inspirational leadership, along with Neeraj Lala from Toyota New Zealand.

Henry Dijkstra from Pulse Video joins Valintine in being nominated for Best Startup. Little Lot director David Hillier got the nod for community impact.

His venture give advertisers the chance to take paid space on the donor’s desktop wallpaper through an app. Australia, Central Asia and Southeast Asia also had a shortlist.