Cape Town, South Africa – The countdown is on for the WomenIN Festival 2025, taking place on 13–14 November at Newlands Cricket Ground, where women who stand out, show up, and shake the world will come together for an unforgettable two-day experience. With over 60 powerhouse speakers, 1,000+ attendees, and voices spanning 17 industries, the festival promises to be a transformative celebration of leadership, wellness, collaboration, and personal empowerment.

After a period of unprecedented global trade disruption, pan-European data from global fintech, SumUp, has revealed that European businesses are facing increased costs due to supply chain disruption.

With top AI graduates commanding £220k salaries at companies like Anthropic and traditional industries unable to compete, Mark Miller – serial entrepreneur and CEO of insurtech InsureVision – talks about the growing talent crisis. His view? The talent war isn't just reshaping big tech – it's creating the biggest opportunity startups have seen in decades.

Dealroom unveils the Thoroughbreds 100: a definitive list of the tech companies in EMEA with over $100 million in annual revenue, demonstrating a combination of growth, traction, and team strength.

iStock, an e-commerce platform providing premium content to SMBs, SMEs, creatives, and students everywhere, reveals how SMBs can incorporate visual content in SEO to stay competitive in today’s AI driven landscape. 

Wype, the UK’s fastest-growing bottom care brand, has closed an oversubscribed £1 million equity round to accelerate its mission of making the most overlooked part of the body the most cared for.

When it comes to startups, the market is saturated with advice on what investors should look for in founders. But we rarely see the conversation from the other side. What should founders be looking for in their investors? Should they just be taking the first offer that comes their way, grateful for the interest? Or is more discernment needed?

All e-commerce brands need fast and reliable shipping to grow in the digital economy. Whether you're a startup or an established DTC brand expanding globally, choosing the right logistics partner can make or break your customer experience. With rising demand for cross-border delivery, the best e-commerce international shipping companies are going beyond basic delivery. They offer tech integrations, customs support, real-time tracking, etc.

Small Business Saturday’s month-long UK roadshow is set to return as it announces plans to visit over 20 towns and cities across the country to celebrate the nation’s vibrant small business community.

Attio, the AI-native CRM for the next era of companies, has raised $52 million in Series B funding. The round was led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from existing investors Redpoint Ventures, Balderton Capital, Point Nine, and 01A. Attio has raised $116 million to date.

Gen Z are setting their sights high on entrepreneurship, as new joint research from Small Business Saturday UK and American Express finds 71% of 18- to 24-year-olds are interested in starting their own businesses, with almost a third of this number (31%) saying this is a closely held dream.

This year the FCA has explicitly labelled hidden FX markups imposed by legacy brokers as poor practice rooted in poor communication – yet new data analysis from Glyde has revealed the true scale of the issue worldwide for smaller businesses.

Creem, the Estonian fintech startup redefining financial infrastructure for AI-native teams, has raised a €1.8 million pre-seed round led by Practica Capital, with participation from Antler and prominent angel investors.

Discovery Park, Kent’s hub for science and technology, announced the arrival of two biotech companies to its innovation campus. iLoF (Intelligent Lab on Fiber), a digital health company and MilaK, a precision fermentation protein business, have now moved into their new laboratory space in Sandwich, Kent.

EPIC 2025, presented by Cathay and HSBC, has successfully concluded its transcontinental pitching sessions, narrowing down 1,200 applications to the top 100 startups.

BGF, the UK and Ireland’s growth capital investor, announces the successful exit of OrganOx, the Oxford-based medtech company whose liver perfusion technology has transformed outcomes for transplant patients worldwide.

While the Black Cats are climbing the Premier League table, Sunderland is also charging ahead – literally – with a trial of Kerbo Charge, a clever new way to make switching to electric vehicles a whole lot easier (and cheaper) for local drivers.

Photonic has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) NORAD Modernisation Science and Technology Contest.

Borderless currency platform Glyde has been selected as one of just 15 fintechs nationwide to join JPMorgan Chase’s Fintech Forward Programme, a highly competitive accelerator designed to support high-potential UK fintechs poised to shape the future of financial services.

New research by UserTesting, the provider of human insights for retailers, shows that as the annual holiday season rolls back around, good customer service could encourage UK consumers to spend at least £251 more than they would have initially.