IWEC Immigrant Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2026
The evening's top honour, chosen from finalists across all categories as the closing award of the night.
IWEC Immigrant Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2026
The single entrepreneur who best embodies everything this programme stands for: a serious business, an extraordinary journey, and a demonstrable effect on the people and communities around her. It is the closing award of the evening and the only one for which no separate nomination is accepted.
Who should be nominated
No direct entry. Every finalist across the other categories is automatically considered. The full judging panel deliberates on the flagship award after all category winners have been finalised, and the recipient is announced last.
How this category is scored.
Each judge scores every criterion from 1 to 10, and the weights below turn those into a single averaged score. Nothing is scored that is not on this table.
| Criterion | Weight | What judges are assessing |
|---|---|---|
| Business Achievement | 30% | The scale, quality and durability of what she has built, judged in the round rather than against a single metric. |
| Journey & Adversity Overcome | 25% | The distance travelled from arrival to where she stands now. |
| Leadership & Influence | 20% | How she has used her position: hiring, mentoring, opening doors, changing an industry's expectations. |
| Community & Economic Contribution | 15% | Jobs, suppliers, taxes, training and the social value created around the business. |
| Embodiment of the IWEC Standard | 10% | Integrity, generosity and the way she carries other women with her. |
Nominations Open
Someone you know has built something remarkable and has never once been asked to tell the story. Take fifteen minutes and put her forward.
