BCG UK Social Enterprise Award

Most awards recognise what you have built. This one helps you build what’s next.

The winner will work alongside a dedicated, pro bono BCG team for ~8 weeks — full time and fully focused on taking your impact to the next level. This isn’t just an accolade or a novelty cheque. It’s an opportunity to get hands-on, industry-leading support from a team of experts at no costs to your organisation with no equity taken.

We’ve helped social enterprises transform their strategies, overhaul their operations, unlock new markets, and secure their futures. Whatever your biggest lever for growth is, you’ll have access to the best of BCG’s resources to pull it.

What’s included for the winner?

The challenge | You already know what your organisation can achieve, and more importantly, what’s getting in your way. You’ll collaborate with BCG to sharpen this instinct into an actionable problem statement — converting your rough goals into a precise plan. Our teams have led high-impact transformations across public, private, and social sector companies, and have the insight and experience to tackle the most critical challenges you face.
The work | This is what the prize actually looks like day-to-day: industry-leading consultants working alongside your team, driving analysis, running workshops, and pressure-testing ideas in real time. You’ll have access to our proprietary tools, global benchmarks, sector deep-dives, and specialists across 100+ offices worldwide. We might be mapping a new funding landscape, modelling expansion, restructuring your operations, or building new technologies — the work is entirely tailored to you.
The outcome | You’ll walk away with a set of concrete outcomes, assets, and plans for your organisation. You can hear from a past winner on what this looks like: whether you go on to unlock new funding streams, expand into new markets, or restructure for long-term resilience, BCG will help you grow and sustain your impact. Beyond the deliverables, you’ll also emerge with a new set of frameworks for approaching your biggest challenges — one that stays with your team long after the engagement ends.

What’s the benefit of applying, whether or not I win?

Work with BCG coaches | Every organisation that makes it to the semi-final will receive coaching from BCG employees in the lead-up to our pitching events. A squad of consultants eager to help you refine, articulate, and deploy your organisation's story.
Receive tailored feedback | Every semi-final team will receive bespoke feedback based on your pitches, and concrete advice for how to improve your messaging in the future. Whether or not you win, you’ll leave better equipped for the future.
Gain visibility | Participants will benefit from high-profile exposure through our marketing activities. We are partnering with leading social sector organisations that can provide additional exposure through their network of companies and investors.
Build your network | Finalists will showcase their organisation before a final panel that includes top UK business and social sector leaders.

Hear from our past participants

Here’s what participants in our 2024 event had to say:

The BCG team helped us to tap into an entirely new revenue stream. We see growth, and I am really excited because that will keep growing over the years to come! We had that in-depth analysis so we could together focus down on the right solutions and where to double down our efforts. My team really benefitted from this structured way of working, and I think that’s something we’ve taken on even after the team rolled off. From the BCG team, we got what we discussed and so much more as well as a really enjoyable experience. — Nicky Huskens, CEO Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission — Winner, 2024

It was a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience — I'd highly recommend applying. Having access to a BCG coaching team during the process was truly valuable: their expertise and insight helped us to prepare our pitches to a much higher level. Most importantly, the whole experience was a lot of fun! — Chris Baird, Social-Ability — Finalist, 2024

It has been a privilege to meet some of the UK’s most impressive social entrepreneurs, and hear about the impact they’re driving in the fields of health, education, and social mobility. — Jessica Frame, Managing Director of Retail at Halfords (and former BCG Managing Partner) — Final Panellist, 2024

We need more spaces and awards and discussions such as this to raise the profile of scalable social enterprises and to support and nurture more social innovation, and more social impact. — Nicole Helwig, Executive Director Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation — Final Panellist, 2024

Our Themes for 2026

The themes for this year’s award are aligned with BCG UK’s social impact priorities and include:

Health | Improving public health and well-being.
Education | Enhancing educational attainment and quality for all learners.
Social Mobility | Reducing inequality and promoting opportunities for social advancement.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from social enterprises — either for-profit organisations with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose, or non-profit organisations with particularly innovative ways of creating social impact.

We are targeting applications from organisations that have been in operation for at least two years, with an annual turnover of at least £500k. We also welcome non-profit organisations of a similar size and operational history. If your organisation fits these criteria, we warmly invite you to apply.
 
BCG will not take equity in any of the ventures, and it is free for all eligible businesses to participate. We are likely to prioritise applicants who have not benefitted from material strategic consulting support from BCG or one of its peers. We are excited to celebrate and support the transformative efforts of the UK's leading social enterprises.

Evaluation Criteria

Participants will be evaluated and advance through each round based on the criteria outlined below:

Impact: We are looking for projects whose goods or services have a measurable and positive impact on UK challenges in health, education and social mobility. Both realised impact and the potential for future impact will be important factors for consideration.
Innovation: We are seeking projects that offer new or different solutions to addressing UK challenges in health, education and social mobility. This includes projects with groundbreaking products or services, unique business models, or exemplary use of existing methods or technologies that deliver superior results or cost-effectiveness.
Financial Sustainability: We are seeking projects with stable financial health, ensuring viability in the coming years. For-profit participants should be profitable or demonstrate a clear path to profitability. Non-profit participants should have secure and diversified funding.
BCG Engagement: You should be willing to work closely with a BCG team in an agile manner, either remotely or in person. Additionally, to ensure any collaboration with BCG is successful, you must demonstrate a clear alignment between your goals and BCG's service offerings to ensure our team is able to help you deliver maximum impact.

Application Process

Applications have now closed for 2026. Here are the key dates for this year’s award:

May 11: Applications close. The top 10 candidates will be selected for our Semi-Final, and each be assigned a BCG coach to help them prepare.
June 9: The top 10 semi-final candidates will pitch virtually to a panel of experts, and receive feedback on their proposals.
July 1: The top 5 candidates will be invited to pitch in person (or virtually) to our final panel of top business leaders at BCG’s offices in London on July 1.