The Asia Foundation Recognizes 2026 Lotus Leadership Awardees

NEW YORK, NY – April 10, 2026 – The Asia Foundation is pleased to announce the honorees for the 2026 Lotus Leadership Awards – Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder & CEO of Acumen; Women’s Business Center Mongolia; and Microsoft – who are each rewriting what’s possible for women’s economic power across Asia and the Pacific. The awards will be presented on April 22 in New York City, hosted by the Lotus Circle, a community of philanthropists supporting TAF’s commitment to strengthening economic, social, and political rights and opportunities for women and girls across Asia and the Pacific. 

Reflecting this year’s theme, “Economic Opportunity Changes the Equation,” the 2026 honorees are recognized for advancing women’s opportunities at every level: from reimagining how capital reaches women, to building the conditions for lasting entrepreneurship, to ensuring women have a seat in the industries shaping the future of work. 

2026 Honorees 

Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder & CEO of Acumen is recognized for redefining how investment reaches women through patient capital, a long-term, values-driven approach that has unlocked opportunities for women entrepreneurs worldwide. 
Women’s Business Center, Mongolia is recognized for more than a decade of high-impact, community-rooted programming that transforms informal women-led enterprises into sustainable, growth-oriented businesses.
Microsoft is recognized for its global commitment to ensuring women are included in the industries and digital ecosystems shaping tomorrow’s economy.

Since 2016, TAF has partnered with WBC Mongolia to grow a local initiative into a proven and scalable model through technical assistance, program development, and long-term support that helped expand WBC from a single location to three. WBC has reached more than 18,000 women through business training, financial consulting, mentorship, and accelerator programs.

For seven decades, TAF has worked across 20 countries to strengthen the systems that determine women’s safety, rights, and opportunities: pairing deep local partnerships with long-term investment that makes opportunity not just available, but enduring.

Now in its 16th year, the Lotus Leadership Award celebrates leaders whose work reflects the full spectrum of what advancing gender equality requires: global scale and local roots, systems change and ground-level action. Proceeds from the evening directly fund initiatives that protect women from violence, expand legal support, and advance economic opportunities.

The Asia Foundation thanks its 2026 event sponsors, including Visionary sponsors Winnie C. & Michael Feng and Lin & Stephen Jamison; and Champion sponsors Cheng-Ling Chen & Andy Chou, and Janet Middleton Montag.