Unlock Her Future Prize to Launch in East & Southeast Asia

• Unlock Her Future Prize is set to expand to East and Southeast Asia in 2026
• It is an annual start-up competition for women social impact entrepreneurs
• The programme is dedicated to women-led social impact start-ups

The Unlock Her Future Prize (UHP) is an annual competition for female entrepreneurs with social impact start-ups, created through the partnership of Bicester Collection and other organizations.

In 2026, UHP will expand into East and Southeast Asia, as an on-going commitment to empower women-led businesses focused on creating purposeful change through entrepreneurial efforts, globally.

The theme of the initiative is "Global Vision, Local Engagement,” where every year the initiative has a new geographic region to explore and discover women who are creating and growing impact-driven start-ups.

The UHP has previously launched successful competitions in MENA in 2023, Latin America in 2024, and South Asia in 2025, and will begin accepting applications from women 18 years of age and older in East and Southeast Asia in 2026.

Applicants are required to provide ideas for social, cultural, and environmental solutions to existing challenges and serve as an alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The business model for applicants must reflect either validation stage, prototype stage growth stage; however, the businesses must be operational for less than three years and have annual revenues of less than $1 million.

Supported by UN Women and delivered in partnership with Ashoka, the initiative provides a package of financial assistance, mentoring, and global networking opportunities.

The winners will receive a business grant of up to US$100,000, an executive education program provided by their academic partners, and access to international mentors and the global network of The Bicester Collection.

The project also points out the general problem of funding for women entrepreneurs. According to the data provided by Harvard Business School, less than 3 percent of women-led businesses have received venture capital investment.