Finalists revealed in Chamber-backed Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition

Four businesses have been revealed as finalists in a competition designed to highlight the West Midlands’ best women-led SMEs and start-ups.

The winner of the third annual Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition - delivered by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with NatWest and the British Business Bank – will be announced following the final pitches to a live judging panel in Birmingham next Thursday (6 November).

In the Dragons’ Den-style event, finalists will deliver their pitch to the judging panel, who then select an overall winner as the ‘one to watch’. 

This year’s shortlist includes:

• Borro, a service that allows parents to rent organic clothes with the price and convenience of fast fashion but without the cost to the planet. Founded by mum-of-two Sarah Green, Borro has surpassed 100 paying subscribers, secured £110k SEIS funding, two Innovate UK grants and achieved a 4.7 Trustpilot rating
• The Calmness Crew, a collection of comforting, voice-guided plushies that voice guide through mental health techniques such as box breathing, positive affirmations and grounding technique. Founder Fran Williams says the idea was born after her daughter experienced severe anxiety following lockdown
• Syncd:in, a revenue-generating music tech company dedicated to empowering underrepresented artists to take control of their music royalties. Between 2020 and 2023, Syncd:in supported over 250 BAME independent musicians and music managers. Its co-founders are Carla Willis-Brown, Lauralee Whyte and Leon Jackson
• Waste Projekt, a sustainable design start-up transforming food waste into fully biodegradable plant pots and eco-conscious gardening products. Founder Molly Ratcliffe has been recognised as a finalist at Venturefest Minerva Pitch Up, runner-up in AXA StartUp Angels, and recipient of the University of Birmingham Female Founder Grant

The final judging panel features Christina French, CEO and co-founder of ESSENCH; Craig McVoy, founder and CEO of Turnkey; Nigel Hall, chair and board advisor to multiple start-ups; and Sharonjit Clare, former independent chair of the WMCA race equalities taskforce.

The event is being hosted by entrepreneur Deb Leary (pictured), Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce past president and scale-up director at Innovate UK Business Growth.

She said: “We know there is a significant gender gap when it comes to angel and VC investment.

“The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition is looking to help change that. Once again, we had lots of high-quality applications, which is a testament to the calibre of women-led enterprises across our region.

“Congratulations to the final four and we look forward to learning more about them and hearing their pitches on the night.”    

The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch 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.

Book your place at the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition final event.