The winners of the awards span a vast range of industries, and are at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys: from multi-million- pound empires to those spearheading social enterprise for the greater good, or solopreneurs starting out.

The 2024 winners are…

The winner of The Balance Award is Karen O’Flaherty, Co-Founder of Pip Organic

The Balance Award is awarded to a woman who has balanced founding a business whilst raising a child/children aged 12 or under.

After years of researching and with no experience, Karen took the plunge with her husband into the food and beverage world with a mission to create top-tasting, healthy food and drink for all the family. A whole lot of juicing and a couple of kids later, Pip Organic was born in 2001 as a small stall in London's Borough Market. A proudly self-funded business, the products are now enjoyed in over 10,000 UK locations and the business continues to expand rapidly with double-digit growth. Pip Organic is committed to sustainability, pioneering the UK's first paper straws on juice cartons. Beyond business, Karen’s leadership shines through community impact, contributing over £20,000 to food banks and educational programmes.

The winner of the Entrepreneur For Good Award is Sandra Igwe MBE, Founder and CEO of The Motherhood Group

The Entrepreneur For Good Award is awarded to a female founded business that contributes to the greater good in some way, whether this is through a social enterprise, diversity and inclusion, sustainability or another area of impact.

What began as a small WhatsApp group by Sandra in 2015 has skyrocketed into the UK’s largest black maternal and wellbeing organisation, serving over 15,000 members. Confronting the urgent need for change, Sandra has tackled systemic maternal health disparities, empowering black mothers with peer-to-peer support, advocacy campaigns, and workshops. The group’s 2022 Black Maternal Health Conference, a first-of-its-kind event, drew national headlines across CNN, BBC, and The Guardian, propelling its mission and relevance to new heights. Through partnerships with global giants Meta, Nike, and NHS England, the business influences corporate spaces and healthcare alike, driving change and creating a legacy of empowerment and inclusion. Sandra’s tenacious vision has transformed lives and earned her a spot on Forbes' Most Influential Women list and Vogue's 2023 Most Inspiring Woman.

The winner of the International Expansion Award is Margaret Dabbs OBE, Founder and CEO of Margaret Dabbs London

The International Expansion Award is awarded to a female founder who has successfully expanded her product/service to a new geographic market.

Starting with a single self-funded clinic in London and driven by her podiatry background, Margaret created a British beauty brand in 2008 that has pioneered and created a new wellness category within the beauty sector for feet, hands, nails, and legs, bridging the gap between podiatry and beauty with the creation of medically credible treatment protocols and problem-solving, results-driven luxury products. Margaret Dabbs London now operates 14 branded Foot Clinics with Nail Spas across the UK and beyond, partners with iconic hotels and spas globally and its products are sold in 38 countries worldwide.

The winner of the Next Level Award is Jennifer Davidson, Founder and Managing Director of Sleek Events

The Next Level Award is awarded to a female founder who has a highly profitable business (above £1 million EBITDA).

Jen launched Sleek by turning an in-house offer into a bold proposition – why not build an agency for her client? They agreed, and Sleek was born in 2015. Jen’s leadership has propelled Sleek to become a global powerhouse with a team of over 250, an impressive client list including Amazon, PayPal, and Pernod Ricard, and placing #19 on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. Despite COVID’s devastating blow to the events industry, Jen repositioned and aligned Sleek with its rapid growth trajectory, delivering over 200 projects globally in 2023 alone, resulting in £2.9 million in revenue pre-pandemic to a projected £22 million in the current year. Jen champions exceptional performance through diverse thinking, a culture of equality and empowerment, and promoting initiatives for women’s health and wellbeing, all whilst achieving an impressive 87% employee engagement score.

The winner of the Scale Up Award is Kim Innes, Founder & CEO of Humble Crumble

The Scale Up Award celebrates a female founded business in a period of high growth, achieving 20% or more growth in employment or turnover for at least 3 financial years.

Driven by her love of making and eating crumble, Kim spotted a gap in the market and turned her passion into the UK’s first crumble-focused brand in 2018, growing from a market stall to four bakeries with a team of 60 in just over 3 years. Initially selling a handful of crumbles per day, the brand skyrocketed after featuring in Time Out and going viral on TikTok, now selling 1,750 crumbles daily. Despite the challenge of scaling operations, Kim has focused on maintaining a positive, inclusive workplace, with 95% of her team being female. Recognised on Forbes 30 Under 30, Kim continues to dream big, aiming for retail and international expansion.

The winner of The Social Star Award is Lemon Fuller, Founder and CEO of Lemonade Dolls

The Social Star Award is awarded to a woman who has significantly grown or launched her business predominantly using the power of social media.

Launched in 2019, Lemonade Dolls is the UK’s fastest growing lingerie, with one product ordered every minute and turning over half a million pounds every month. As a brand that celebrates inclusivity, diversity, and helping women unapologetically love themselves from the inside out, it is disrupting the lingerie industry, as the first to innovate a bralette up to an H cup with the same genius support found in the brand’s other bras. With truly ethical and sustainable standards throughout the production process, Lemonade Dolls is a chosen partner of Choose Love and will have donated 45,000 units to them by the end of 2024. Lemon is also a graduate of Goldman Sachs 10KSB and an inductee to EY's Entrepreneurial Winning Women. Lemon is re-writing the rule book to change the conventional norms of the lingerie industry and demonstrates that sustainability can be sexy, and big brands can have big hearts too.

The winner of the Solopreneur Award is Rachel Peebles, Founder and Spanish Teacher of Estrellas Brillantes

The Solopreneur Award is awarded to a woman running a business as an independent sole trader.

In 2017 Rachel founded an award-winning Spanish language hub that brings learning to life Spanish classes for all ages – from babies and 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.

The winner of the Small Enterprise Award is Rose Ovensehi, Founder and CEO of Flora & Curl

The Small Enterprise Award celebrates an inspiring woman who has founded a profitable business with under 25 employees.

Flora & Curl burst onto the scene in 2017 with one mission: to make curl care simple, effective, and empowering. After finding most market options unsuitable, Rose took matters into her own hands and created gentle, nutrient-rich, plant-based solutions from her mother’s kitchen. From three original products the business has grown significantly, launching onto the UK high street and expanding to over 80 countries. With over 20 awards and a Forbes #30Under30 mention for Rose, Flora & Curl is projected to triple its profits this year. A passionate advocate for sustainability and inclusivity, Rose leads with this at the core of the business, from eco-friendly aluminium bottles to tree-planting initiatives, Flora & Curl is truly a force for good.

The winner of the Tech Innovator Award is Vinita Rathi, CEO of Systango

The Tech Innovator Award recognises a woman who is creating innovative tech which is creating change within the industry.

Since founding Systango in 2004, Vinita has been a force to be reckoned with in the tech industry. Leading a team of over 350 digital innovators, she’s transformed Systango from a small startup to a global engineering force, known for pioneering work in Generative AI, Web3, automation, and Cloud technologies. Vinita has led Systango to achieve extraordinary 55% year-on-year growth, expanding into the USA, with plans for the Middle East and APAC on the horizon and spearheading revolutionary AI-driven tools to navigate Systango’s successful public listing on India’s NSE. Vinita’s passion for uplifting others drives her work with WomenHackForNonProfits and Women Who Code, and her dedication to sponsoring education for underprivileged youth.

The winner of the Woman of the Year Award is Lucy Goff, Founder of LYMA Life

From her kitchen table, armed with determination and a vision to make a difference, Lucy has transformed her own health challenges from a small startup into a global sensation worth over £150 million and present in over 70 countries. Since 2018, she has pioneered scientific solutions that merge wellness and technology. Her FDA-cleared at-home laser was named TIME Magazine's Best Invention of 2023, and led to a King’s Award for Enterprise, a spot on the Sunday Times Fastest Growing UK Businesses and FT 1000 Fastest Growing European Companies. Lucy is a fierce advocate for gender equality, with women making up 75% of her senior leadership team, supporting The King’s Trust #ChangeAGirlsLife initiative and her soon-to-launch Women in Science Bursary, that will open doors for the next generation of female innovators. Whether she’s spearheading efforts to retain her company’s B Corp certification, creating products with waitlists of over 30,000, or meeting leaders at 10 Downing Street, Lucy is transforming lives and proving that bold ideas and unrelenting passion can change the world.

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.”

Congratulations to all the winners of the day, and to all the finalists!