Female Founders Summit 2025: ‘Biggest male ally’ shares why it was important for the event to return to Northampton

This one-of-a-kind experience is being hosted in the town from June 12 to 14, marking the fourth year since it first launched.

There will be a wide variety of masterclasses, workshops, networking opportunities and keynote speakers to enjoy – as well as a full day of holistic wellbeing at Delapre Abbey, one of the much-loved venues from 2024.

Organised by master coach Lucienne Shakir, this event welcomes business owners from all over the world and epitomises the importance of women supporting women in the push towards equality in the business world.

Louis Devayya, the inward investment and business growth manager at West Northamptonshire Council, has been praised by organiser Lucienne for his commitment to pushing for the event to be hosted in Northampton.

Louis and his team focus on engaging with businesses across West Northamptonshire, with the aim of helping them grow and overcome barriers. They also promote the area as a worthy place for investment.

It was at the end of 2023 when Louis and Lucienne were first introduced and he said it was a “no-brainer” for WNC to support the Female Founders Summit in being hosted here.

Louis says the collaboration opened the council’s eyes about the importance of supporting female entrepreneurs and addressing the barriers they face in growing. This led them to invest in the Inspire Her initiative.

“As one of the only men in the room last year, I felt like I was peeping behind the velvet curtain,” said Louis. “It showed how big of an issue it is and how we could address it.

“It’s not about offering more support to women and less to men, we want all businesses to thrive – but we need to pay attention to the fact that female-owned businesses are prevented from growing at the same rate.”

Louis says it was very important to WNC to see the Female Founders Summit return to Northampton in 2025, as he was “blown away” by it.

“People travelled from all over the world to Northampton and said it is a good place for business,” he said. “We have entrepreneurial spirit in West Northamptonshire and it’s about walking the walk, not just talking the talk.”

Louis praised the Female Founders Summit for offering expert advice, unique opportunities, enjoyable interactions and high quality networking – which founders can then go and implement.

“The connections are for life,” Louis concluded. “It’s highly valuable, inspiring and the standard is very high.”

The final release of tickets are now available and attending all three days, which includes the wellness day and business summit, is currently £520 plus VAT. For just the business summit on the final two days, tickets are currently £420 plus VAT.

Having been the exclusive media partner of the Female Founders Summit 2024, the Chronicle & Echo is delighted to be partnering with the event again in 2025. Join us for new stories every Monday and Thursday in the lead up to June.

For more information on the Female Founders Summit 2025, and to secure your ticket, click here.