Women Who Scale Takes Female Founders Pitch Competition to Manchester

Amy Knight
3 days ago
4 min read

Press Release: Live pitch event at SCALE Manchester on 25 November, with judging panel led by the Angel Investment Network

Women Who Scale, part of the SCALE platform for scaleup founders, investors and growth partners, has announced its Female Founders Pitch Competition will return on 25 November 2026, at Freight Island in Manchester.

The initiative aims to tackle the persistent underrepresentation of women in boardrooms, pitch rooms, and on cap tables - on both sides - recognising that female-led businesses receive disproportionately low levels of venture capital and equity investment. A recent parliamentary report confirmed that for every £1 invested in UK businesses through equity funding, only around 2p goes to all-female founder teams.

Female and non-binary founders are invited to apply now to pitch on 25 November. Applications are welcomed from women-led businesses headquartered in the North West of England.

Shortlisted entrants will be asked to submit a pitch deck. A select few founders will be invited to present to investors and a live audience of 300 entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem allies, at SCALE Manchester.

SCALE’s first pitch event in London in April saw underrepresented founders take to the stage at the Business Design Centre, and walk away with a package of scaleup support including £3,000 worth of coaching sessions from SCALE Ventures, 2 months free ‘Global Pro’ access to the Angel Investment Network platform, a 1-on-1 pitch review session and a dedicated shout-out in the AIN newsletter.

SCALE is delighted to confirm that the Angel Investment Network will once again play a pivotal role in shortlisting applications, judging on 25 November and connecting the winner and runner-up with potential backers.

Xavier Ballester, Director AIN Brokerage Division, said;

“After seeing the incredible standard at SCALE London, expanding our partnership to Manchester is a smart step for AIN. The UK’s venture ecosystem has been concentrated in the South for too long, yet world-class innovation is happening everywhere. We are coming to Manchester specifically to back the exceptional female founders in the North West who are building high-growth, high-traction businesses. If you have clear momentum and a compelling vision, we want to give you the platform and investor network to scale it globally."

Nina Van Schaick, founder of women’s healthtech company Peripear, won the female founders’ pitch competition at SCALE London in April, and has gone on to win a number of prizes since, including £70,000 through Natwest’s Accelerator programme and Innovate UK’s Women In Innovation Award.

Nina said;

“When you’re deep in the day-to-day of building a company… you don’t always stop to take stock of how far you’ve come. Winning at SCALE was one of those moments where you’re forced to look up. The quality of the other founders in the room was exceptional, so to be selected felt like genuine validation, not just of the idea, but of the execution. For Peripear it opens doors. For me personally, it was a reminder that what we’re building matters to people beyond our immediate network.”

Nina shared her advice to any female founders feeling apprehensive about raising investment;

“The rooms can feel intimidating. The questions can feel designed to catch you out. There will be investors who don’t get it, or who aren’t the right fit, and that is fine. What I have learned is that the investors who are right for you will feel different, they will lean in, ask better questions, and make you feel like you are in a conversation rather than an interrogation. The most important thing is to know your numbers and why you are the right person to solve this problem.”

Backing the North West's female founders

Access to investors, capital and scaleup networks remains heavily concentrated in London and the South East, leaving founders in other parts of the UK - particularly those from underrepresented groups - at a structural disadvantage when it comes to raising growth-stage funding.

At SCALE Manchester, Women Who Scale will put female founders directly in front of Angel and Venture Capital investors. The summit agenda includes a funding masterclass for women-led businesses raising investment and a main-stage panel discussion around ‘Stats and Solutions’ to tackle psychological, structural and financial blockers for underrepresented founders outside the capital.

Amy Knight, co-founder of Women Who Scale, said: The UK economy needs more women investing and raising capital, and scaling companies. Our pitch competition gives female founders and women-led businesses amplified visibility, investor access, and vital connections to support personal, professional and business growth. Having seen the impact these opportunities can create for women-led companies since our London event, we’re excited to offer the same level of support to founders building in the North West.”

Sam North, Co-founder and CEO of SCALE, said: “When we ensure ambition and talent outside London get the same access to capital, and the same shot at scaling, as anywhere else in the country, everybody wins - underrepresented and previously under-funded entrepreneurs, the regions and the wider UK economy.”

Joining Xavier on the judging panel is Andy Gray, an exited founder turned angel investor and advisor who is extremely active in the North West innovation ecosystem.

Andy said:

“Frontier Fridays - a co-working day in Manchester for people working on innovation and building things – has been epic so far this year and proved to me personally we have so much talent in the North West. As a judge I like to see projects taking a contrarian view of something and going against the norm. This is where innovation and disruption happens."

The full judging panel and package of prizes will be announced in the coming weeks. Follow SCALE Events on LinkedIn and Instagram for updates.