Prime Highlights-
- The Adam Smith Business School and Barefoot in Business won the Best Business School Partnership Award at the 2026 Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association Excellence Awards.
- The initiative supports female entrepreneurs in Uganda while giving Glasgow students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, business planning, and mentoring.
Key Facts-
- University of Glasgow business students mentor pupils from Glasgow primary schools, who help run social enterprises selling tote bags handmade by women entrepreneurs in Uganda.
- Revenue from bag sales supports the following year’s program, provides income to the bag makers, and funds educational and empowerment initiatives through Girl Up in Uganda.
Background-
The Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow has won the Best Business School Partnership Award at the 2026 Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association Excellence Awards for its five-year collaboration with social enterprise Barefoot in Business.
The project connects three groups across two continents. University of Glasgow business students mentor pupils from two Glasgow primary schools, who in turn run a youth-led initiative that sells colorful tote bags handmade by female entrepreneurs living in Ugandan slums.
Profits from bag sales fund the following year’s school program, pay the individual bag makers directly, and support Girl Up’s education and empowerment work across Uganda.
Students aged eight to 18 who take part through Barefoot in Business set up and run their own social enterprises. Business school students guide them through the process, from naming the business and building a marketing strategy to understanding how sales work, drawing on skills developed through their own degree programs.
The bags go on sale each year at a pop-up Christmas shop on the University of Glasgow campus. Jan Shearer, Rankings and Accreditation Manager at the Adam Smith Business School and the project lead, said the award reflects the strength of a partnership built over five years around a shared commitment to inclusion and opportunity. She said the school looks forward to building on what has already been achieved.
The Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association Excellence Awards recognize standout work across business education each year. Winning the partnership category puts the Adam Smith Business School among institutions recognized for taking education beyond the classroom and connecting it to real-world social impact.
