Bicester Collection Reveals 12 Asian Finalists for 2026 ‘Unlock Her Future’ Prize — Women-Led Ventures Driving Social Impact

The Bicester Collection has named 12 Asian finalists for the 2026 edition of its ‘Unlock Her Future’ prize, selected from roughly 1,500 applicants. Eleven of those finalists are based in East and Southeast Asia, reflecting the programme’s regional focus this year on entrepreneurs who use business to tackle social and environmental challenges while advancing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

The fourth edition of Unlock Her Future spotlights women founders whose initiatives span gender equality, education, healthcare, technology, craft preservation and sustainable value chains. Since launching the prize, The Bicester Collection has supported women founders from 39 countries across 16 of the 17 U.N. SDGs, with an accumulated funding commitment of about $900,000. Winners in 2026 will be eligible for funding of up to $100,000, plus education, mentoring and access to a global support network.

Standout Finalists

Finalists include ventures using technology to expand access to essential services and initiatives that create new markets for undervalued resources:

• Her Lens (Indonesia) — Uses artificial intelligence to help community midwives scale cervical cancer screening in remote areas.
• Giboo (South Korea) — An AI-driven platform that matches funders with high-impact social projects to direct philanthropic capital more effectively.
• Tech Up Advance (Singapore) — Expands STEM access for children with special educational needs; already active in 500 schools across six markets.
• Birufinery (Indonesia) — Develops seaweed-derived biostimulants to create higher-value agricultural inputs and a stronger market for seaweed producers.
• The Visible Hands (China) — Repositions traditional crafts for the contemporary creative economy, offering women artisans routes to stable income while preserving techniques and stories.
• Bamboo Family Market (Thailand) — Evolved from six artisans into a community craft platform empowering more than 60 women and becoming a local cultural destination.
• Moms Village Asia (Malaysia) — Trains survivors of domestic violence to produce sustainable corporate-gifting products, turning craft skills into income and independence.
• Tam Nhung Social Enterprise (Vietnam) — Brings mental health and legal support into factory communities for migrant women workers with limited access to services.
• 38Fixers (China) — Trains professional women home-repair technicians to expand economic opportunity in a male-dominated trade.
• School on Cloud (Singapore) — Helps women become education entrepreneurs and extends learning opportunities into communities with scarce formal schooling.

Programme, Partners and Timeline

The 2026 programme is supported by U.N. Women, with Ashoka as impact partner and NYU Shanghai serving as academic partner. Finalists will convene in Shanghai in October for an entrepreneurship boot camp hosted by NYU Shanghai, participate in cross-market exchanges and deliver a final pitch to a regional jury. Winners will be announced on October 23.

“The week is so much bigger than the pitch,” said Chantal Khoueiry, Chief Culture Officer at The Bicester Collection. She emphasized that the boot camp, informal conversations and new connections often lead to lasting partnerships and meaningful collaboration among founders.

For The Bicester Collection, the prize is part of a broader strategy to position the organisation as a platform for culture and social innovation in Asia. Hosting the programme in Shanghai underscores China’s role as a regional hub for talent, creativity and purpose-driven business; The Bicester Collection also points to its local presence through properties such as Suzhou Village and Shanghai Village, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.