Pitch competition is set to shine a spotlight on ambitious and talented female entrepreneurs in the West Midlands
A competition which aims to showcase the West Midlands’ best women-led SME and start-up businesses is returning for a third year.
The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition - delivered by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, NatWest and the British Business Bank - gives female entrepreneurs chance to showcase their business by pitching to a live panel of investors.
Applications for the 2025 edition are open now until Wednesday September 17.
Up to five finalists will be invited to pitch to a panel of judges at a Birmingham city centre venue on November 6.
The competition aims to showcase the best of the region’s women-led SMEs and start-ups, while addressing some of their barriers to growth.
Latest figures from the Gender Index reveal just 3.29 per cent of West Midlands-based female-led companies have attracted angel investment in 2025 so far – down from seven per cent in the same period during 2024 - despite the region having the highest proportion of female-led companies in the UK.
Last year’s winner was Wolverhampton-based iCount - a medtech firm which has developed a safety device to prevent medical complications during childbirth and surgery - following a successful pitch from co-founder and CEO Dr Aditi Desai.
In 2024, biotech firm SymbioTex Ltd, led by CEO and founder Olivia Simpson, was the judges’ choice.
Lillian Elekan, director of membership at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “The Women Entrepreneur’s Pitch Competition puts a spotlight on ambitious and talented female founders in our region.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to pitch to potential investors both on the panel and in the audience, as well as growing your profile and network.
“We’re proud once again to be working with fellow advocates for female entrepreneurship to make this event possible.”
Harinder Kunor, community accelerator manager at NatWest, said: “We are incredibly excited about this year’s Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition and are very much looking forward to hearing from some amazing women entrepreneurs from across the region.
“Helping women-led businesses to scale and succeed is critical to harnessing long-term, sustainable growth in the local and national economies, and we welcome the opportunity to work with leaders in our local ecosystem to support female-led businesses in securing investment."
Tracy Sherratt, UK senior network senior manager (West Midlands at British Business Bank), said: “We know that underrepresented founders, including female entrepreneurs, continue to face challenges in accessing funding and capital.
“The British Business Bank is committed to changing this through initiatives like the new £400m Investor Pathways Capital programme, which will support emerging fund managers and ultimately open up greater opportunities for a broad range of entrepreneurs to secure investment through micro funds set up to support small and early-stage businesses.
“We’re proud to once again support 'The Women Entrepreneurs' Pitch Competition' alongside the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and NatWest.
“This event will help raise the profile of innovative women led businesses across the West Midlands and support the Bank's wider mission to make the investment landscape more inclusive.
“This is an excellent chance to build networks, gain visibility and access new sources of funding for founders and entrepreneurs to grow and scale their business.”
