Female Founders Summit 2024: Empowering business event is coming to Northampton for the first time

An empowering event, which will welcome women in business from all over the world, is coming to Northampton for the first time this summer.

The Female Founders Summit 2024 will be headlined by well-known businesswoman Mary Portas, and hopes to inspire more women to conquer and flourish in the business world.

Organised by accredited master coach Lucienne Shakir, in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and a number of local businesswomen, the event will be hosted across various town centre venues on July 12 and 13.

Emma Bridgewater and many more high profile experts are lined up, in what the organisers hope will be a “truly accessible, transformational and actionable live experience that will leave a lasting impact”.

When asked how it feels to bring the Female Founders Summit to her hometown for the first time, Lucienne told the Chronicle & Echo: “It’s mega exciting. It’s been held in Manchester for two years and giving opportunities to people in this part of the UK is really important to me.”

The two days are being held at five different heritage sites across the town – the Royal Theatre, Delapre Abbey, Vulcan Works, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, and Northampton Filmhouse.

Bringing many businesswomen together for this innovative event has been made possible by the support offered by WNC, which Lucienne praised.

“I don’t know if there’s anything else like this,” she continued. “It would cost so much money to get these women in a room and ask them questions. They love to give back but don’t have the time to organise it themselves, so it’s a win-win.

“It’s like having a massive meeting of friends. Knowledge and expertise will be provided by women who have been there, done that and faced the same problems as these female founders.”

The deep learning and masterclasses have been curated into three groups, the first of which is the ‘how to’ sessions with industry experts.

Ranging from optimising SEO and developing marketing strategies, to how to appear confident online or at networking events, these sessions will provide “real and actionable” steps for attendees to take.

The next is the women’s wellbeing sessions, located at Delapre Abbey. These will welcome local female founders, such as domestic abuse survivor Caroline Strawson, to share their knowledge and experience in the wellbeing space.

Finally are the keynote talks, including with businesswoman, broadcaster and activist Mary Portas.

Lucienne said: “These will be in a really intimate setting at the Museum. Attendees can ask questions to people they don’t usually have access to. We’re not about putting people on a pedestal, it’s about working together to make it accessible.

“To go and learn from people like Mary Portas – if you were to work with her for half an hour, it would cost thousands of pounds. We will offer everything in one location at one time, so you don’t have to go and seek out the information.

“We work on fact-checking and only work with ethical businesses. There will be no selling tactics at the event, just the opportunity to come and learn. This is a unique space that is run by women for women.”

Lucienne has seen “so much potential” in Northampton, as it is filled with “great places that people want to be at”.

The organiser is even hosting an allyship question and answer session with 30 men, who are invited to ask questions without judgement in a confidential space.

Early bird tickets are now sold out and standard tickets are available for £350 plus VAT.

Lucienne wanted to emphasise that all money from ticket sales is reinvested in curating future events, and everyone involved is volunteering their time to bring people together.