Experts to highlight importance of investing in women-led firms

An expert of panel of speakers will take to the stage during the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition to speak about the importance of supporting and investing in women led firms.

The event, taking place on November 6, will feature five finalists pitching to a panel of judges in a bid to become the next success story in the region’s business community.

The panellists include Alison Bradley, director at Central Finance; Jon Gamble, business growth advisor at Innovate UK; Sandy Reid, fund principal at Mercia Ventures, and Vicky Mears, director at the British Business Bank.

Alison Bradley has over 25 years’ experience in helping SMEs to access the finance that they need to grow and develop; working in both the Public and Private sector.

She is the co-founder of Central Business Finance which is the brand name of a group of companies. 

The group comprises of Central Business Development Ltd and Central Business Consultancy LLP and specialises in arranging finance transactions for businesses with turnovers typically between £500K to £30M.   

Alison said: “I’m delighted to be joining the panel for the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition 2025, hosted in partnership with the British Business Bank, NatWest and the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.

“This event is a fantastic platform to celebrate innovation, amplify women’s voices in business, and support the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Sandy Reid (pictured left) has been with Mercia since 2017, bringing broad investment experience across various sectors, stages, and geographies.

This includes finding new opportunities to invest in, making investments and then working with founders on value creation.

As a Fund Principal, she is responsible for delivering results and overseeing performance across the East Midlands, managing the team.

Sandy said: “At Mercia Ventures, we’re proud to support founders from all backgrounds in achieving their ambitions.

“As a woman who has successfully raised VC funding before becoming an investor myself, it’s especially inspiring to be part of events that spotlight the innovation and drive of women founders.”

Vicky Mears is the Director of UK Network for the Midlands and North of England, she has more than two decades of banking experience.

Vicky Mears said: “The British Business Bank knows that supporting female entrepreneurs to access the finance they need to grow their businesses is vital to the wider economy.

“The pitch competition is another example of this support. In partnership with NatWest and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, we are helping to remove the barriers faced by businesses founded by women on their growth journey.”

Jon Gamble said: “With over 25 years in the investment space, I can guarantee big ideas are worthless without great founders and business leaders to unlock potential and deliver success.

“So I am extremely proud to be supporting our amazing Female founders driving the next generation of global product and service innovations from right here in the West Midlands.”

The competition is designed 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 7 per cent in the same period during 2024.

This is despite the region having the highest proportion of female-led companies in the UK.

Pictured: 2024 Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition judging panel (from left to right) Sandy Reid, Jordan Dargue, and Mabs Ali