Turning Ideas Into Impact: Our Women-Led Innovation Making Waves at the Bicester Unlocking Women Awards

The Bicester Collection, the owner of 12 designer fashion outlet villages across Europe, China and the US, today unveils the finalists of the South Asia edition of its Unlock Her Future Prize — underlining the region’s growing global influence.

Unlock Her Future was conceived in 2022 to identify and empower female social impact entrepreneurs from a different region each year — providing a case study for how a fashion retail group can champion social impact. It is part of The Bicester Collection’s Do Good programme, which is anchored in three pillars: long-term charity partnerships, bold advocacy and purposeful innovation. The first two editions of the prize focused on MENA and LATAM; this year, the spotlight turns to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

“South Asia was chosen because it represents one of the most dynamic yet underserved regions for women’s entrepreneurship,” says Chantal Khoueiry, chief culture officer at The Bicester Collection’s parent company Value Retail. “The region is home to more than two billion people, yet only 32 per cent of women participate in the labour force — far below the global average of 50%. In India alone, over 90 per cent of the 15 million women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises still rely on informal financing. This highlights both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity to create systemic change.”