Nisha Vyas-Myall has won the Inspire Initiative and is pictured receiving her prize from HM Lord-Lieutenant Helen Nellis at The Higgins Museum in Bedford.
She receives two years’ free mentoring worth £5,000 with one of the county’s most experienced mentors, Elizabeth Toogood.
A special award was also given to Taste Bedford founder Anne Harnan, home economist and recipe tester, for her work in creating the town’s popular food and drink festival.
Elizabeth Toogood created The Inspire Initiative to commemorate 100 years of votes for women inspired by the Celebrating the Women of Bedfordshire exhibition at The Higgins Museum, which featured 60 eminent Bedfordshire women.
Ms Toogood said: “The response to The Inspire Initiative was fantastic with 21 women entering and my sincere congratulations go to the very worthy winner.
“We chose Nisha because she has come so far already in her business and we feel that with the right support she can make a huge contribution to Bedfordshire and beyond.
“We also wanted to recognise the hard work Anne Harnan has put in to creating Taste Bedford, which is a fantastic event for the town.”
She created the competition after being included in the exhibition in June. “Drawing on your sources of inspiration can be so valuable for people who are actively seeking to grow their businesses, and I am very much looking forward to working with Nisha over the next two years and supporting her as she grows her business,” said Ms Toogood.
Ms Vyas-Myall, said: “I still can’t quite believe that I won. I was up against so many amazing women and it’s truly an honour to receive this mentorship. I’m really excited to see what this will lead to, for me and for my students.”
