‘All the competitors were top-notch’, says winner of Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition

A female entrepreneur developing technology to take the pain out of running small firms’ finances has been crowned the winner of a pitch competition hosted by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC).

Statement – co-founded by qualified accountant Sonu Bubna – was named the judges’ ‘One to Watch’ in the fourth annual Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition, organised by the Chamber in partnership with NatWest.

Four finalists secured the chance to pitch in front of a live judging panel at NatWest’s Accelerator hub in Birmingham city centre on Wednesday November 11.

After a round of pitches and questions, Birmingham-based Statement was announced as the winner, with judges praising Sonu for being “very clear in terms of her proposition”.

They said they saw “lots of opportunity” for Statement, which has “already got some traction in a growing market”.

The judges were Katherine Hill of Mercia Ventures, Ayesha Kotecha of RandalSun Capital, Craig McVoy, and Nigel Hall of The Digital Consigliere.

The other finalists were Daphne Water Solutions, which has patented a nature-based technology that removes pharmaceuticals, pesticides and microplastics from treated wastewater; Fibraxis, an Aston University spinout developing an inhaled therapy designed to halt – and potentially reverse – the airway damage that makes asthma harder to control; and Oprising, a software platform helping managed IT service providers improve service quality and cut operational risk.

Statement’s platform is aimed at start-ups and SMEs whose owners are often expected to manage cash flow, reconciliations and payments without any finance training. It pulls together data from spreadsheets, accounting software and bank accounts so founders can answer questions such as whether they can afford to hire.

Sonu began her career in financial advisory at KPMG before co-founding browser extension WhatRuns, used by more than 500,000 people worldwide, and savings platform Shopper.com.

She set up Statement with co-founder Manoj Krishnapillai, who has been part of two successful fintech exits.

The firm is looking to raise £600,000 to fund the next phase of its growth and has already received £335,000 investment from venture capital fund Haatch.

In her pitch to judges, Sonu said: “Most tools report or assist. Statement runs finance. We’ve lived this problem from every side – as bankers, advisers and founders.”

On being named as the ‘One to Watch’, she added: “The competition was so tough - all the other competitors were top-notch - so winning is a very good feeling.

“I’ve made some really good connections and had some interest in the business as well, including some customers I could potentially tap into.

“So, this is definitely a very good platform for me to start making those connections and win them over.”

The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch competition aims to showcase the best of the region’s women-led SMEs and start-ups, while addressing some of their barriers to growth.

Figures from the Gender Index reveal just four per cent of West Midlands-based female-led companies have attracted Angel investment in 2026 so far.

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, congratulated Sonu and the team at Statement on being crowned this year’s ‘One To Watch’.

She said: “All four finalists showed the calibre of women-led businesses in our region – yet with just four per cent of female-led firms in the West Midlands attracting Angel investment this year, too many are still being overlooked by those who could help them grow.

“Putting founders like these in front of investors and experienced business leaders is one way we can help close that gap, and I’d like to thank NatWest, our judges and everyone who came along to support them.”

Pam Sheemar, NatWest’s regional accelerator director for the Midlands, South West and Wales, said: “I am so proud that NatWest are collaborating with the Chamber on the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition.

“We heard from four finalists who were selected from hundreds of applications. The standard this year has been really strong.

“The quality of the final pitches demonstrates that we are driving growth in the region and championing female entrepreneurs to grow and scale.”