Judging panel revealed for Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition 2026
A high-profile panel of investors is set to judge the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition, organised by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
The event, delivered in partnership with NatWest, will take place on Wednesday, 11 November.
It will showcase some of the best female-led startups and SMEs pitching their ideas live to a judging panel and room of investors, fellow entrepreneurs and local business leaders.
As well as being able to directly pitch their business to funds actively looking to invest in businesses in the region, one business will be named as the panel’s “One to Watch” and overall winner of the competition.
The judging panel includes Katherine Hill from Mercia Ventures, Ayesha Kotecha from RandalSun Capital, Craig McVoy from Turnkey and Nigel Hall from The Digital Consigliere.
Ayesha Kotecha is a medically trained doctor-turned healthcare investor at RandalSun Capital, with experience spanning life sciences, venture capital, venture building and family office investing.
Her clinical experience in NHS geriatric, paediatric and psychiatric medicine gave first-hand insight into the demographic and systemic pressures shaping healthcare demand. Her research training has enabled her to translate these observations into sector theses, market mapping and analytical research.
Based in London, Ayesha works natively with AI technologies, developing tools to support investment origination, monitoring and due diligence processes. She has also invested as an angel investor in five startups over the last three years.
Katherine Hill (pictured) is an Investor at Mercia Ventures, which invests in early-stage businesses across the West Midlands on behalf of the British Business Bank.
Mercia is sector agnostic, backing ambitious founders across a wide range of industries. Katherine joined the Mercia team over a year ago, having previously worked as an accountant at BDO.
She said: “I attended the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition last year and was blown away by the impressive female founders who took to the stage.
“I’m delighted to be joining the judging panel this year and can’t wait to see the next wave of talent from across the region.”
Craig McVoy is the founder and CEO of Turnkey, a scaleup builder focused on turning high potential startups into scaleups by providing them with a unique proposition that helps them unlock the opportunity in their market segment.
He has over 25 years of corporate experience working with recognisable brands, including John Lewis, RBS, BMW, LV=, Mercedes and Direct Line.
He said: “I’m looking forward to seeing some excellent female founders again this year after being part of the judging panel last year.
“Seeing our chosen winner, Frances Williams, go from strength to strength in the last 12 months with her plushie products has been great to see, and shows that when you back the right female founder, they go on to deliver amazing results.
“I’m sure this year will be equally tough in the competition.”
Nigel Hall is a chair, NED, board advisor, mentor and an angel investor who works extensively with founders and leadership teams building and scaling ambitious businesses.
He supports multiple founder entrepreneurs from diverse communities and is a committed advocate for female founders and helping women entrepreneurs overcome the barriers that can still limit access to investment, networks, visibility and senior-level support.
The event will also feature insights from a diverse set of speakers, including past winner Fran Williams, GBCC CEO Henrietta Brealey, CEO of Forensic Pathways Professor Deb Leary, and Harinder Kunor, accelerator community manager of Birmingham’s NatWest Accelerator.
The shortlisted candidates will be announced next week.
