Five exceptional social entrepreneurs and their four ventures have been recognised for their achievements and ambition in creating social change through business.
Championing UK social innovators
Posted:
15 Jul 2024
Cambridge Social Innovation Prize Winners 2024
Winners of the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize for 2024 have been selected for their achievements and potential creating positive social impact for individuals and communities in different parts of the UK through education and training, sport and music.
These awards are made annually to extraordinary founder-CEOs of scale-up social enterprises to support their growth as leaders. Uniquely, the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize recognises mid-career social innovators with a proven track record, but who could benefit from support to reach the next level. The prize includes a £10,000 cash award for personal and professional development. Additionally, mentoring from experts from Cambridge Social Ventures at Cambridge Judge Business School and support from an expanding community of social innovators at Trinity Hall will help them to develop the skills, resources, and networks they need to create more impact from their work.
The winners are:
- Izzy Obeng – co-founder of Foundervine, a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem renowned for its accelerators and investment readiness programs, actively breaking barriers for early and scaling-stage businesses, particularly those underrepresented.
- Daryl Chambers – founder and CEO of InPower Academy CIC, a social venture which harnesses the power of martial arts to transform the lives of young people in Wolverhampton, especially those living in areas impacted by crime.
- Camilla Rigby and Rachel Mostyn – co-founders of Women’s Work Lab, a community interest company that supports unemployed Mums on benefits back into work.
- JR Josephs – founder and CEO of Sirlute, a Black- and lived-experience led CIO that provides creative learning activities in music/multimedia/fashion for at-risk young people.
Winners, Camilla Rigby and Rachel Mostyn describe what winning the prize means for their work:
“As Co-Founders we’ve been heads down since 2018 setting up and building the Women’s Work Lab into what it is now. We’re hugely proud of the progress we’ve made but would like to create greater impact across the UK for more Mums and we feel that this prize could be the catalyst for our next phase of growth.
“Absolutely chuffed to bits! A huge shock and honour to be recognised as it’s always really daunting to apply for something as prestigious as this. We always want to highlight how special our Mums are and knowing that their voices and stories will be told at the University of Cambridge is super exciting”.
Nicole Helwig, Executive Director for the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation says of this year’s winners:
“It is wonderful to celebrate the five individuals who are recipients of this year’s Cambridge Social Innovation Prize. Their work transforms lives, empowers youth at risk and addresses challenges in innovative ways. We are pleased to support their continued development through this unique award and look forward to seeing the results of their work in the future”.
About the Prize
The Cambridge Social Innovation Prize is the cornerstone of an ongoing collaboration between Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School and Trinity Hall, one of the oldest colleges at the University. Together, the School and the College are working to foster an interest in social innovation and entrepreneurship among students, fellows, and alumni, encouraging them to create new businesses and to pursue careers rooted in social and environmental impact.
The Prize is awarded by Trinity Hall and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge, supported by a generous donation from Trinity Hall alumnus Graham Ross Russell.