Young Harborough entrepreneur has been shortlisted for three national awards

A fired-up young Market Harborough businesswoman is thrilled after being thrust into the frame to win three top national accolades.

Megan Gamble, 25, said she was honoured and humbled to be in with a shout of being recognised among thousands of young entrepreneurs all over the country as she targets a stunning hat-trick.

The mental health campaigner told the Harborough Mail: “I’m delighted to have been picked out for these highly-prestigious awards.

“I have got some fantastic people supporting me to the hilt – and this is just as much for them as it is for me.”

Megan said she was ecstatic to be shortlisted from a mammoth list of over 4,800 nominations for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year tag.

“The Great British Entrepreneur Awards acknowledges the hard work and fearless spirit of entrepreneurs and businesses in the United Kingdom,” said Megan, who launched a successful mental health initiative in Market Harborough at the start of the first Covid lockdown in April 2020.

Francesca James, who set up the awards scheme in 2013, said: “We have seen some incredible finalists over the years - and this year is no exception.

“It really is one of the strongest shortlists we’ve ever had.”

The awards have celebrated some outstanding entrepreneurs with previous winners including the founders of Grenade, Tangle Teezer and The LADbible.

But not content to stop there, Megan’s also been put forward for the Great British Businesswomen Series.

“These awards showcase the talented female founders, role models, advocates and mentors who lead, support, celebrate and inspire the next generation,” said South African-born Megan.

“Only one in three UK entrepreneurs are female, with studies showing that in 2020 only 5 per cent of FTSE 100 CEOs were women and just 2 per cent in the FTSE 250.”

To top it off, Megan has now been named as a finalist for the Women’s Business Awards ‘Leader of the Year’.

The contest takes place in a string of countries every December, “celebrating and recognising women for their outstanding contributions and achievements”.

This year is the ninth annual Women’s Business Awards and features over 20 categories.

Angela De Souza, the chief executive and founder of Women’s Business Club, the event organiser, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming a host of talented businesswomen to this year’s conference.

“The day promises to be both uplifting and educational.

“There is a wealth of knowledge that will be shared and it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded business people and to cement relationships.”

Megan said the fact she’s bidding to win multiple awards highlights her “vision, passion, hard work ethic and commitment”.

“That’s especially so over the last 18 months where Covid-19 has had such a devastating effect on so many people’s mental health all over the UK.

“It’s a huge honour to have even been nominated - let alone shortlisted - for these three awards alongside such inspirational individuals.

“This is a milestone I will treasure for years to come.

“But nothing would be possible without such an amazing team around me – and they all deserve so much praise,” insisted Megan, who graduated in international business from Loughborough University in June 2018.

“I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supports the Hashtag Me’s mission I launched in December 2018.

“I got the campaign off the ground to equip and empower people to reach their full potential, build resilience and have positive mental health and it went brilliantly.

“Congratulations and best of luck to everyone!”

If you would like to support Megan in the Women’s Business Club scheme, you can vote for her here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyW2_80kt0wjZqAfIZJkbc5V2n_k9SvyzfB9UT6-JuNx22uQ/viewformMegan staged special cyberspace advice sessions last year in an attempt to support men, women and youngsters whose lives were being turned upside down by the breaking coronavirus crisis.

“The Covid-19 crisis is causing a lot of stress and worry.

“Unfortunately, it’s clearly impossible to hold our usual classes and one-to-ones at the moment.

“And this difficult situation is going to continue for some time yet as the lockdown goes on,” Megan told the Mail in April last year.

“So we are using technology to reach out to as many people as possible, both in Market Harborough and beyond, and we’ll do our absolute best to help them.”

And 119 men and women tuned in to join Megan for her first online session - from as far away as Australia and Kuwait.

You can discover far more about Megan’s inspiring Hashtag Me mission here: https://www.hashtagme.com/about-us