Karishma Vijay Wins The Apprentice 2026

On Thursday, April 16, Karishma Vijay was crowned the winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice 2026.

Karishma was eyeing Lord Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment for her skincare beauty brand.

The 28-year-old businesswoman is a successful entrepreneur with her own company, Kishkin.

In the final episode of The Apprentice 2026, Karishma competed with Pascha Myhill to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.

Karishma named her brand, Be The Sun and delivered a humorous pitch which impressed the audience.

Pascha, who also has Indian heritage, pitched her healthcare recruitment brand.

Both pitches were praised by Lord Sugar for being “superb”, and Pascha was noted for her acumen at the young age of 21.

However, ultimately, Karishma bagged the final prize, despite concerns over the crowded nature of the beauty market.

Speaking about selecting Karishma, Lord Sugar said: “As always, it was close competition in the final after two outstanding pitches by two brilliant young businesswomen.

“But Karishma really impressed me throughout the process and has proven why she deserves my investment.

“She’s a proper grafter, and she’s got that entrepreneurial spirit that I always look for.

“The cosmetics industry is one I know a lot about, and I know our partnership will pave the way for a bright future.”

From her interview with the BBC, let’s find out what Karishma Vijay had to say about winning The Apprentice.

Winning The Apprentice

I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m going to be calling Lord Sugar every other day, saying: “What do I do now? I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Because when I was doing it by myself, I was going at my own pace.

Now, there’s a bit more pressure, because I have to really convince him that he made the right decision to have picked me.

I feel like I will never get over this experience. Nothing in my life will ever compare. I just got engaged – so what?!

Her biggest highlight

The best highlight ever was Baroness [Karren] Brady. Even her just saying my name out loud, but also for her to acknowledge me.

She thought I was good. Apparently, she never says that to anyone. None of the candidates ever get told: “You did good.”

For me, she said: “Karishma, you really stood out. You’re the big boss.”

In what world does Baroness Brady speak about candidates like that? I feel so honoured.

She backed me, she really backed me, and I feel like that made Lord Sugar think: “Wait, there must be something here for my right hand to be talking about her like this.”

Her toughest challenge

I was really underestimated going into the first couple of challenges.

It was only in Task Four [the water branding task] that I really got to show people what I’m about.

So I love that for me. People underestimated me until I showed them what I was capable of.

What has the experience taught her?

I am so much more confident. I feel like I can talk to anyone now. I can sell my stuff in public. I’ve never had that exposure.

Now I’ll be at exhibitions, and I’m screaming and shouting and singing. People love it. Nothing makes me nervous.

If you can sit in front of Lord Sugar, Baroness Brady and Tim [Campbell], and put a sentence together, you can now talk to anyone.

Those people are the epitome of power, and now I just feel so brave. No one scares me. Nothing intimidates me now.

How will she celebrate?

I feel like Kishkin needs its party. My brand needs to celebrate this. This is gonna put us on the map.

You know, we’ve been kind of fighting against the big names in the industry to even get a seat at the table.

Now, we’ve got the seat, and now we must keep it there, but we should celebrate the fact that a small brand that started in a tiny basement in a warehouse, made it to this level, and now it’s a fresh start for us.

Now doors are gonna open that we probably never would have even knocked on.

And now they’re gonna blow wide open because of Lord Sugar.

It’s all about his network and his advice and his expertise.

He is the blueprint of business – I feel like I’ve got the godfather of business behind my shoulder now.

How will the investment grow her business?

We’re going to pump so much money into marketing. I want everyone to know the brand. Not knowing me.

Right now, people associate me with the brand, as the face of the brand. But I want to reverse those roles.

Kishkin should be everywhere, duty-free, billboards, Sephora, Harrods, Selfridges, all the big places.

There should be a little Kishkin counter where all the girls can run in to buy their new skin care fix.

And I just want our brand to continue to make products that work miracles on skin.

What advice would she give to young entrepreneurs?

I really think that people get so obsessed with giving it perfection and making it really, really great immediately.

But there’s a beauty in things being slightly imperfect, growing with people, being vulnerable, and saying to people: “Okay, you know, I’m sorry this didn’t go to plan, and this is what I learned.”

Let people be a part of your growth journey, because the big brands have already done it, and now you’re gonna be someone new.

You must convince people you’re worth believing in. So just stop trying to be perfect, polished, and be more human.

People love a humanised brand. But just go for it. Don’t delay things, because before you know it, your life’s gonna flash by and you haven’t done what you dreamt about when you were younger.

Don’t wait until you’re ready.

Meanwhile, Pascha Myhill shared her thoughts on missing out on winning the show.

She said: “Coming in the runner-up, either way, for me, I’m so, so proud of Karishma.

“I think she fully deserved the win, and I went on thinking I’m probably going to get fired in week 4.

“I really didn’t believe myself enough to think that I’d even get to the final.

“So getting to the final is actually such a massive win for me.”

“And having that one-on-one with Lord Sugar, he sees me now [and] he said to stay in touch.

“So I think for me, what I’ve always said to myself is, ‘By 25, I’m going to open up a company’.

“And he asked me that in the boardroom. He said, ‘If I don’t invest in you, Pascha, then are you still sticking to that?’

“And 100 per cent, I think I’m going to take my time to really learn and connect with the recruitment world and the care industry as a whole.

“And 100 per cent that’s still something that I’m willing to do by myself or with an investment.”

Congratulations to Karishma Vijay for winning The Apprentice, and to Pascha Myhill for being a fantastic candidate!