Selected from nearly a thousand entries, 10 extraordinary women from across the country have been unveiled as the 2024 winners in the UK’s longest-running recognition programme for female entrepreneurs.
The everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, in association with BGF, was held on December 4 at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, where over 300 business leaders and supporters of female entrepreneurs united to celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary women and their businesses.
The winners span a vast array of industries and stages of their entrepreneurial journey, from multi-million-pound empires to those spearheading social enterprise for the greater good, or solopreneurs starting out.
Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman comments: “Over the last 25 years, everywoman has been at the forefront of the drive to increase the number of female entrepreneurs, working with government, industry bodies and the corporate sector to accelerate the rate of progress and dismantle barriers that remain for women, particularly the lack of female role models and accessing funding to growing and scale their business.
"The UK government have an ambitious target to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030, adding 600,000 businesses to the market and boosting the UK economy by a projected £250 billion.[1] That’s why these awards remain as relevant today as ever.
"Of the businesses that entered the awards this year, 51% stated they were going to be seeking additional funding in the next 12 months, 69% were planning to deploy more technology and 83% said they would be recruiting more employees. These women are wealth and job creators and the businesses we must invest in for the growth of UK Plc.
"This programme has created an incredibly unique group of like-minded founders, business leaders and investors, who not only advocate and champion each other, but also provide a business referral and a support network that generates partnerships and business opportunities.
"We want to congratulate these unstoppable female founders, both winners and finalists, and recognise their vital contribution to the UK economy and their role in paving the way and inspiring other ambitious women to follow suit.”
Rachel Peebles, Founder & Spanish Teacher of Estrellas Brillantes (Shining Stars), from Glasgow won The Solopreneur Award at the 2024 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, in association with BGF.
In 2017 Rachel founded an award-winning Spanish language hub that brings learning to life Spanish classes for all ages – from babies & toddlers to pensioners. It’s a vibrant community hub that extends far beyond the scope of traditional language education, inspiring and encouraging learners to speak Spanish, build friendships, grow in confidence and help others, through fundraising events and summer clubs, that have raised £30,000 for charity since the business began.
Based in two local community venues near Glasgow, the classes have grown from just 16 children in 2017, to over 200 children, across 19 community classes and a nursery group today, with over 90 adults being taught weekly also.
Gemma Hamilton, investor and origination at BGF, and a judge at the everywoman Entrepreneur Awards 2024, said: “This year’s inspiring winners have showcased remarkable ambition and a clear vision for growth. At BGF, we’re proud to champion female entrepreneurship, having invested over £500 million into female powered businesses to date. By raising awareness of the financial and strategic support available, we hope to foster even more successful women-led businesses that are at the forefront of innovation, growth and job creation.”
The 2024 winners were chosen by a judging panel comprising some of the UK’s most successful women in business as well as VCS and investors who are at the forefront of closing the funding gap with their diverse portfolios.
Judges include Chrissie Rucker (Founder of The White Company), Susan Allen (Co-founder at Here We Flo), Connie Nam (Founder of Astrid and Miyu), Yvonne Nagawa (Chief of Staff at Black Seed Ventures), Izzy Obeng (CEO at Foundervine), and Libby Gibson (Partner at Piper PE LLP), amongst others.
To find out more about the winners or to register your interest in the 2025 awards, please visit https://www.everywoman.com/entrepreneur-awards/