Welcome to this alumni blog series celebrating International Women’s Day (Saturday 8 March 2025). This year’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” emphasises the urgency of achieving gender equality by addressing systemic barriers and biases women face.

We are excited to feature Department of Management alum, Bora Mazreku (MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021), Co-Founder of Mind the Cake.

Bora’s work at Mind the Cake focuses on training and hiring women who lack access to training and employment opportunities. She helps them develop financial independence and career skills, all while they create delicious and nutritious cakes.

Read about Bora’s impactful career and how both of her businesses are driving positive change for women’s advancement.

Please tell us about yourself and your career journey to date

My name is Bora Mazreku, I am a social entrepreneur with over seven years of experience in business development, social impact, and sustainability. I hold an MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from LSE
and have founded two businesses to date: Bardha’s Cake and Mind the Cake.

Bardha’s Cake is a social enterprise located in Kosovo whilst Mind the Cake is also a social enterprise based in London where we provide sugar-free cakes for everyone including vegans and people with other dietary requirements. I have lived in Kosovo, Greece, United States and now I am based in the U.K.

How is your company positively impacting women’s advancement?

Bardha’s Cake

Bardha’s Cake is the first social enterprise in Kosovo to train and hire women from rural areas. Within five years we managed to hire more than 40 women, train over 100, and expand to two physical locations. Bardha’s Cake kitchen includes only women, to make them feel safe at their workplace. They are also the first company in Malisheve (my hometown) to hire women as waitresses.

In 2023 I was awarded the most successful woman entrepreneur of Kosovo, and I dedicated the award to our women bakers at Bardha’s Cake.

Mind the Cake

In London, with Mind the Cake, we are training and hiring women who do not have access to training, employment, or education (NEET), particularly immigrant women and refugees. We help them develop financial independence and career skills. In just one year, we have trained four women.

Additionally, I have directly mentored over ten women entrepreneurs through accelerator programmes and professional networks, helping them access funding, scale their businesses, and build strategic partnerships.

If you’re an LSE student or alumni with a business idea or interest in entrepreneurship, check out LSE Generate.

Volunteer and share your expertise with the Department.

Find out more about International Women’s Day.