The Hawaii Venture Capital Association yesterday named the winners of its second annual Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

"We think it is so important to honor those people in our community who take on entrepreneurial ventures, create meaningful jobs and contribute to improving and diversifying our economy," said Bill Spencer, HVCA president.

Winners were recognized in six categories:

• Young Entrepreneur: Dan Leuck, president of Ikayzo Inc., a boutique information technology consulting firm specializing in enterprise software development.

• Clean Tech Entrepreneur: Mark Duda, founding member of Distributed Energy Partners, a Hawai'i-based renewable energy firm focused on the commercial, nonprofit and government markets.

• Digital Media: Jeanette Hereniko, founder and president of AsiaPacificFilms .com, an online film library that streams films.

• Invention: Heidi Kuehnle, co-founder and chief executive of Kuehnle AgroSystems Inc., which does research on making biofuel from algae.

• Entrepreneurship Advocate: David Fisher, founder of Maui Venture Consulting.

• Social Entrepreneur: Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes use of renewable energy.