Female empowerment initiative wins Best Business School Partnership Award
Published: 26 January 2026
The Business School’s collaborative project with Barefoot in Business has been awarded Best Business School Partnership in the 2026 Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association Excellence Awards.
The Business School’s collaborative project with Barefoot in Business has been awarded Best Business School Partnership in the 2026 Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association Excellence Awards.
The initiative brings together Adam Smith Business School students, female entrepreneurs in Ugandan slums, and Glasgow primary schools to empower women of all ages.
Barefoot In Business enables young people aged eight to 18 to set up their own social enterprise selling a range of colourful tote bags made in Uganda.
Business School students mentor youngsters from two Glasgow Primary Schools through the pupil-led women's empowerment initiative. They use the ideas, knowledge and skills developed in their degree to mentor pupils through a business ‘masterclass’ from brainstorming their business name through to creating marketing material and understanding the science of sales.
The profits raised from selling the bags in a pop-up Christmas shop at the University of Glasgow campus go towards paying for next year’s school initiative; to the individual bag makers and support Girl Up’s transformational work in youth education and empowerment across Uganda.
Rankings and Accreditation manager Jan Shearer who leads the project at the Adam Smith Business School said: “This recognition reflects the strength of our five-year partnership and our shared commitment to creating meaningful, inclusive opportunities that empower young people and women entrepreneurs in Uganda. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together and look forward to building on this important work in the years ahead.”
Professor Graeme Roy, Head of Adam Smith Business School said: “Our Barefoot in Business partnership gives our students the opportunity to go out into the community and use their knowledge and skills to support and mentor others, and provides them with the chance to think more broadly about what ‘business for good’ means in terms of fostering global and local partnerships.
The initiative connects and strengthens the School’s and Barefoot’s shared goal of teaching and empowering local people in the long term, to acquire skills and reflect upon their entrepreneurial skills in an enlightening and enterprising manner, and addresses real-world challenges for all involved. It’s fantastic this work has been recognised in the AMBA and BGA Excellence Awards.”
The first initiative of its kind to be supported by a UK Business School, the work adopts a proactive and innovative approach to strategic collaboration, supporting the values and purpose of Adam Smith Business School and Barefoot in Business. The partnership embodies the Business School’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The AMBA and BGA Excellence Awards bring together leading lights from the global business education community to celebrate excellence and commend achievement among business schools, MBA students and graduates, suppliers and employers.
The Best Business School Partnership Award recognises business schools that share AMBA & BGA’s passion for building networks and have adopted a proactive and innovative approach to strategic collaboration.
First published: 26 January 2026
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