19 Jan Essex entrepreneur named one of 2025’s most impressive female founders
Keisha Ehigie of Purfleet, Thurrock has been crowned one of the UK’s most impressive female entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s ‘f:Entrepreneur #IAlso100’ campaign.
Keisha Ehigie, who founded Imagine Me Stories, a diverse book subscription for children, in 2019, is being profiled among 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs from across the country, as part of the campaign to celebrate the multi-achievements of women running businesses in the UK today.
The f:Entrepreneur ‘#IAlso100’ line-up particularly showcases trailblazing female founders who lead purpose-driven businesses alongside a roster of other responsibilities, such as volunteering, mentoring and community support.
Keisha Ehigie, a Nigerian-Jamaican mother, observed a gap in children’s literature when her young daughter struggled to find characters that mirrored her own identity and experiences. With only 1% of UK children’s books featuring Black protagonists at the time, Keisha knew action was needed.
Drive by this insight, she established Imagine Me Stories, a company dedicated to transforming the way children experience literature. They have a book subscription service for children aged 0-12, which provides books with Black protagonists and inspiring Black history resources to help children see themselves in the stories they read while encouraging all families to build diverse libraries. Additionally, they partner with schools across the UK to diversify their libraries, creating more inclusive learning environments for all children.
Keisha Ehigie has also won the Great British Entrepreneur Award in 2021 in the ‘Entrepreneur for Good’ category and she was included in the Telegraph Natwest 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2022. She was also named Bookshop Hero of the year by The Bookseller.
On being featured in the #ialso100 lineup, Keisha said: This is an amazing validation of the important work we are doing and I am so grateful to have made the list. We strongly believe every child should see themselves in the books they read and this helps us shine a light on that.
Launched in 2017 by Small Business Britain – the leading champion of small businesses in the UK – the f:Entrepreneur campaign aims to raise greater awareness of the impact of incredible female business owners across the country, and help provide inspiration and role models to the wider small business community.
The campaign offers a host of events, training, and networking opportunities to boost skills, capability, and confidence.
“It’s wonderful to have Keisha from Imagine Me Stories feature in this year’s #IAlso100 – all of the female entrepreneurs in this year’s line-up are simply phenomenal,” said Michelle Ovens CBE, founder of Small Business Britain.
“It is vital that we recognise the impressive contribution of the UK’s female business owners and do all we can to support and encourage them throughout their entrepreneurial journey, from start-up to scale-up. As well as making a huge economic contribution to the UK, female entrepreneurs also create a wider positive impact that ripples across society and local communities too.”
To see the full line-up of the 100 women featured in this year’s f:Entrepreneur #IAlso100 campaign visit: https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2025/
