Setting a new agenda for inclusive growth in entrepreneurship

Join us at Founderfest 2025, the UK’s premier inclusive startup event, designed to ignite innovation, build connections, and drive growth for your business.
June 2026, London
Register for 2026
About
Speakers
Sponsors

What is Founderfest?

Launched in 2018, Founderfest is where visionaries, builders, and changemakers meet to create tomorrow’s businesses. From expert panels to hands-on workshops, Founderfest provides everything you need to level up your entrepreneurial journey.
With over 500 attendees and 50+ inspiring speakers, Founderfest is a powerhouse of innovation and collaboration. Attendees consistently praise the event, with 100% of surveyed participants recommending Founderfest. On average, each attendee leaves with 8 valuable new connections, making it a must-attend for entrepreneurs looking to expand their network and accelerate their growth.
Designed for every stage of your founder journey
A dedicated space for every founder—whether you're just starting out, scaling up, or ready to accelerate to the next level.

Start

Design your ultimate experience by handpicking your favourites from our dynamic line-up of panels and keynotes.

Grow

Discover how to harness new technologies, innovative funding, and inclusion to drive your business growth.

Amplify

Exceptional speakers, respected experts in their fields, eager to share insights, provide guidance, and mentor founders.

Our speakers

Founderfest 2025 offers an engaging agenda showcasing compelling debates, workshops, fireside chats, and presentations led by inspiring leaders in the entrepreneurial landscape. If you have an intriguing presentation topic or wish to contribute to a panel discussion, we welcome your application to speak at Founderfest 2025.
Afiya Chohollo
Co-Founder, CloudFO
Amoye Henry
Founder and Managing Partner, FoundHers Labs
Anthony Rose
CEO, Seedlegals
Babita Ambekar
Partner, CMS
Cecil Adjalo
COO, Foundervine
David Adjei
Founder & CEO, AICHITECT
David Fogel
Co-Founder, Alma Angels
Dr. Aalok Y. Shukla
CEO & Co-founder, Implement AI
Eilish Jamieson
Non-Executive Director, British Business Bank
Emma Rees
Executive Chair, Deployed

Meet our 2025 sponsors

Interested in being a sponsor?
Register your interest

British Business Bank

We are working to ensure that people in smaller businesses have the same access to finance, no matter who they are or where in the UK they may be. People and communities are at the centre of our work on diversity and inclusion as we contribute to the ‘levelling up’ of the regions and nations of the UK. ‘Diversity and inclusion’ means many things for the Bank. Through the funds and schemes that we manage, it means ensuring that talented entrepreneurs have access to finance regardless of personal characteristics including social background, gender, ethnicity, disability or age. Across the UK, it means ensuring that the funding needs of very different businesses, in different locations, are being met. In the wider market, we deliver the Investing in Women Code* for venture capital firms, alongside other industry partners, giving the market the tools for transparency and showcasing the actions that increase investment in diverse entrepreneurs and business owners.
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CMS London

The CMS equIP programme is an accelerator that supports innovative start-ups with strong intellectual property assets by providing discounted full service legal support, mentorship, and access to CMS’s extensive international network of industry leaders, investors and like-minded entrepreneurs. In 2023, we officially launched the equIP embRace campaign which marks our continued commitment to fostering diversity within the entrepreneurial landscape. Our primary goal is to amplify opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs by increasing their representation in our programme. As with our #LeadHers campaign, equIP embRACE fosters partnerships with third parties with the same aim to do as much as we can to ensure equal opportunities for all founders. For more information, please contact us.
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Lloyds

For over 250 years, Lloyds has been providing expert support and guidance to households, business and communities of Britain. Our expertise and understanding is built on this experience, providing financial confidence, support and peace of mind for customers of every generation and every community. Lloyds are committed to supporting families and businesses, helping them to take the next step, whatever that may be. Lloyds, by your side. Find out more about the work we’re doing to create a more equitable landscape for Black entrepreneurs.
Black Business Support Hub
Black British in Business & Proud Report 2022
Lloyds Academy
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London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange is proud to set the stage for your success, where ideas meet capital and become reality. We connect companies, countries, and investors in the real world to make measurable and positive differences across the globe. Customers look to us for broad access to capital markets and liquidity across multiple asset classes. We deliver a broad range of international equity, fixed income, exchange-traded funds, investment vehicles and foreign exchange markets. Customers can choose from our capital formation and execution venues, London Stock Exchange, AIM and Turquoise. Having contributed to supporting the financial stability and growth of communities and economies globally for more than 300 years, London Stock Exchange is proud to be a catalyst for opportunity.
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Big Issue Invest

Big Issue Invest invests in Social Enterprises, Social-Purpose Businesses and Charities creating core solutions to end poverty in the UK. Founded by impact entrepreneurs John Bird and Nigel Kershaw, from the Big Issue Group, we are one of the leaders in social impact investing. Since 2005, we have invested £90m across more than 600 investments, all sharing the Big Issue Group’s mission – to create innovative solutions through enterprise and unlock social and economic opportunity for people affected by poverty.
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Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies helps businesses and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work and live. From PCs and workstations to the data centre to the cloud, we offer customers the most innovative and comprehensive range of technologies and services, that meet the demands of a highly dynamic market in the data and AI age.
www.dell.com
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The panel sessions, each and every one of them left me feeling more inspired, educated and encouraged to do more for my business.
Sarah Oladokun, Digital Content Creator & Creative Consultant
Khalia Immerse Programme

Meet the incredible organisations that continuously support Founderfest

Founderfest 2024 in numbers

509
Registered attendees
61%
Female attendees
19
Industries represented including tech, FMCG & Healthcare
38
Expert speakers
49%
Revenue generating businesses

Founderfest went viral on social..