The Bicester Collection launches the Unlock Her Future™ Prize

Empowering women, empowering ideas, empowering innovation – across the globe.

The annual entrepreneurship programme aims to drive change by empowering women first-time founder, social impact entrepreneurs.

As part of its DO GOOD programme, The Bicester Collection is launching the Unlock Her Future Prize, an annual initiative to identify and empower women first-time founder social-impact entrepreneurs from different regions of the world.

The inaugural 2023 edition will launch in MENA and then roll out to a different geographical region each year.

Championing women game-changers and identifying role models for future generations, the Unlock Her Future Prize will support three extraordinary women social entrepreneurs, providing the financial, social and human capital support to empower them to develop their business skills and launch their start-up ventures and drive sustainable positive social, environmental and economic impact within their local region for generations to come.

Each of the three winners will receive a business grant of up to US$100,000.

The prize is open to women from the MENA region who are first-time founders of any age with an inspiring not-for-profit business idea that aims to deliver a positive and sustainable impact on society, as defined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Presenting partners include Ashoka Arab World, who, since 2003, has pioneered social entrepreneurship, identifying world-leading social entrepreneurs and paving the way for a flourishing social entrepreneurship sector across the Arab region and as Academic Partner, the world renown faculty, New York University Abu Dhabi.

“Women social entrepreneurs in the MENA region can and do have an impact in every field yet are still underfunded and under-recognised. The Unlock Her Future Prize is a transformative opportunity for the region’s leading women social entrepreneurs to access not only funding but also mentorship, technical support, a global network of allies, and global exposure.” – Dr Iman Bibars, Regional Director of Ashoka Arab World, Founder of the Women’s Initiative for Social Entrepreneurship, and Vice President of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public.

A selection committee of experienced international business professionals and social impact experts, together with an assembly of judges comprising high-profile women from the MENA region, will review applications. Eight finalists will be selected and invited to pitch their ideas to the judges in person in London, with three winners announced on International Women’s Day 2023.

The Bicester Collection promotes the empowerment of women through every facet of its organisation; 66% of its employees are women, and 52% hold management positions with equal representation at Board level.

The Bicester Collection’s DO GOOD programme drives women’s progress in several ways; through its enduring charity partnerships that empower women locally and globally and through its advocacy work, influencing global organisations and rallying policymakers and business leaders to bring gender equality to the front of the agenda.

The launch of its innovative proprietary platform Unlock Her Future™ in 2021 represents the business’ continued commitment to embed its mission into regions and communities beyond the physical footprint of its 11 flagship shopping destinations in Western Europe, China and soon America.

“Our mission is to generate authentic and meaningful, scalable social progress in different regions of the world through our inspirational partners, and with a focus on unlocking the potential of women wherever they are born”, explains The Bicester Collection’s Chief Culture Officer, Chantal Khoueiry. “We’re very proud to be launching the Unlock Her Future Prize. We believe in a world in which every woman has the opportunity to achieve her full potential, to become an extraordinary change agent and a role model for future generations.”

Applications will be open from 10 December 2022 – 31 January 2023. Apply here: TheBicesterCollection.com/en/campaign/unlock-her-future-prize

#DoGood #UnlockHerFuture

About The Bicester Collection

The Bicester Collection is a family of 11 distinctive shopping destinations in Europe and China defined by extraordinary experiences while offering remarkable value. The Collection, created and operated by Value Retail, brings together the world’s most discerning guests and the world’s most renowned brands – often for the first time – on a journey of discovery. The Villages are located close to some of Europe’s and China’s most celebrated cities: London, Milan, Munich, Dublin, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich, Suzhou and Shanghai. Collectively home to more than 1,300 boutiques, The Bicester Collection offers guests an ever-evolving curation of fashion and lifestyle brands, world-famous restaurants, exciting pop-ups, and imaginative art installations throughout the year. Discover more at TheBicesterCollection.com

DO GOOD is The Bicester Collection’s platform to make the lives of others better
— Brands, Guests, People, and Communities. The Bicester Collection DO GOOD programme represents a culture that places giving back at its heart. By harnessing a sense of purpose and belonging amongst colleagues and engaging with guests, DO GOOD stands as a powerful collective force for good.

Our mission is to generate transformative social impact through our inspirational partners, with a focus on unlocking the potential of women and children, to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – to play our part in making a difference locally and globally for generations to come.

About Ashoka Arab World

Ashoka Arab World is the regional hub for Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the world’s largest platform for social entrepreneurs. Ashoka was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organisation based on the idea that the most powerful force for good in the world is a social entrepreneur: a person driven by an innovative idea that can help correct an entrenched global problem. Today, Ashoka exists with the mission of identifying and supporting the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and equipping Everyone to be a Changemaker. As a global organisation, Ashoka is represented across 94 countries and has offices in 35 countries.

About WISE

The Women’s Initiative for Social Entrepreneurship (WISE) is an international movement led from the global South to redefine success in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem so that women innovators are better recognised, funded, and celebrated. WISE was formed in 2011 at a gathering in Cairo of ten women Ashoka Fellows from around the world during which the group identified avenues for collaboration and discussed how to advance the work of women social entrepreneurs.

About New York University Abu Dhabi 

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective program with majors in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities with a world center for advanced research. Its campus enables students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world, and to advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from some 120 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU’s campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.