Social Ark & Hiscox- Here Come the Girls

Social Ark is an award-winning charity that empowers young people from under-resourced communities to develop social businesses- guided by their lived experiences. We also run youth engagement programs enabling school-age children to participate in meaningful social action. Social Ark has partnered with Hiscox and the Cambridge University Social Innovation team to deliver the ‘Here Come the Girls’ Social Enterprise project to positively impact 180 school girls over three years in areas of high deprivation across London. Over the course of the programme, the girls develop enterprising solutions to local social issues and develop their own micro-social enterprises. The after-school learning workshops focus on developing business skills, including business planning, finance, monitoring and evaluation, public speaking, pitching, and presenting. The mentoring and offsite visits to Hiscox HQ and Cambridge University give them the opportunity to put their learning into practice as they pitch and receive feedback from leaders in their fields. Students receive a personal budget to spend on their cause. At the end of each programme is a celebration event attended by students, teachers, parents, carers, and siblings. The girls show significant growth in confidence as they develop business and transferable leadership and life skills.