Digital startups throughout the West Midlands are set to benefit from a wealth of increased investment opportunities, expert support services, and methods to introduce AI integration, all designed to help reinforce the West Midlands as a global tech powerhouse.

The Accounting & Business Show Asia 2025 will take place on October 22-23, 2025 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore, bringing together more than 4,000 accountants, finance leaders, and business decision-makers from across Asia.

Sanlam Investments has confirmed its third sponsorship of Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES), taking place in February 2026, reaffirming its commitment to financing Africa’s sustainable future through innovation in renewable energy, water security, waste reduction, ocean and climate finance.

This November, Workspace Design Show (5th - 6th November 2025, RAI Amsterdam) doesn’t just ask what the workplace should be; it lets you feel the answer. Across Hall 5, five of the Netherlands’ most creative design studios have turned conversation into atmosphere, theory into tactility, and workplace talk into spaces you can smell, hear, shift and claim as your own.

Government leaders across the globe have adopted different negotiation tactics to the sweeping trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, with varying degrees of success. The approach taken by the UK Government to secure a deal early on appears to be supported by UK Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Humanoid has announced a strategic partnership with QSS AI & Robotics, Saudi Arabia’s robotics and AI company pioneering the localisation of advanced technologies under Vision 2030.

The Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, in association with BGF, has unveiled a powerhouse lineup of extraordinary female founders in the running for the UK’s most prestigious entrepreneurship honours.

The Female Advisory Board (FAB), the UK’s first all-female peer advisory group, has announced a new charitable partnership with New Beginnings Peer Support, a peer-led after-crisis domestic abuse service supporting women and children in North Yorkshire who have experienced domestic abuse.

ZainTECH, the integrated digital solutions provider of Zain Group, announced a strategic partnership with DataPatrol to expand and strengthen its presence in the Bahrain market, focusing on advanced data security and insider threats management.

The Adecco Group has announced the release of its sixth annual Global Workforce of the Future report, titled Humanity at work: How to thrive in the AI era. The report uncovers how AI, purpose, and human connection are reshaping work – and what leaders should do to keep pace amid workforce transformation.

In an exciting move for attendees of the world’s most innovative pro AV and systems integration event, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) has secured Sol Rashidi as a Keynote Speaker for ISE 2026. Sol will take the stage at 13:00 on Wednesday, 4 February. Her participation perfectly mirrors ISE’s 2026 theme, ‘Push Beyond,’ inviting the industry to explore every opportunity and redefine what’s possible.

Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for transport, the built environment, cities, and local growth, has announced the first project under the new Public Realm Innovation Lab.

The late payment problem continues to weigh heavily on UK small businesses, with new research from accounting software company FreeAgent showing that almost two-thirds (62.6%) of invoices sent by SMEs in the last year were paid late.

The future of work isn’t physical versus digital. It’s both, beautifully and intelligently intertwined. That’s the driving force behind Connected Realities, the newly announced theme for Workspace Design Show, taking place 25th - 26th February at the Business Design Centre, London.

Cambridge Future Tech (CFT), the scientific venture builder, and global built environment consultancy Arup, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the creation of the Deep Rack Venture Studio – an initiative targeting the creation of 16 new startups addressing critical challenges in global data centre infrastructure.

Red Hat has announced new survey results highlighting the prominence of AI for UK organisations’ IT strategies. The findings reveal UK organisations surveyed anticipate boosting AI investment by an average of 32% by 2026.

Trescon, in partnership with ESG Mena, announced the launch of the CARE ESG Awards, a landmark platform recognising the innovators, organisations, and change makers redefining sustainability standards across the Middle East and North Africa. The CARE ESG Awards will take place at the inaugural Climate Action, Renewable Energy & Sustainability Forum (CARE MENA), co-located with the Digitisation, AI & Emerging Tech Summit (DATE). Together, the two events will bring together over 4,000 government, industry, technology, and sustainability leaders.

Prepare for the unforgettable. Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world-renowned annual tech show for the audiovisual and systems integration industry, is back – and registration for ISE 2026 is officially open.

The evidence shows that small business owners are disproportionately affected by mental health issues compared to the wider population. Largely driven by the stresses of owning and operating a business, SME owners are susceptible to a range of mental health problems.

Clustermarket, the lab equipment scheduling platform, has announced it is rebranding to Calira and welcoming non-executive director and investor Edmund Wilson, co-founder and former CEO of Titian Software (now Cenevo), to capitalise on increasing enterprise demand for optimising lab operations.