A competition designed to showcase the West Midlands' best women-led SMEs and start-up businesses is returning for a second year.
The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch competition is run by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, NatWest and the British Business Bank.
It provides female entrepreneurs with an opportunity to showcase their businesses by pitching to a live panel of investors.
The competition is designed to showcase the best of the West Midlands' women-led SMEs and start-ups and address some of their barriers to growth.
The judging panel will select up to five businesses to pitch at the event.
Sign up for your free West Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
The deadline for applications is September 30 and the pitch event takes place in Birmingham on November 13.
Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: "We, and our partners, know that there is a very big gender investment gap impacting the region's businesses.
Most Read
"We also know from our Business Commission West Midlands that there is a need to improve investor networks in the region.
"With the Women Entrepreneur's Pitch Competition we're doing just that - putting a spotlight on incredible female founders, offering a platform to engage leading investors actively looking to work with businesses in the region and creating opportunities to network and community build around women's entrepreneurship."
Harinder Kunor, ecosystem manager at NatWest, said: "We are incredibly excited about this year's competition and are very much looking forward to hearing from some amazing women entrepreneurs from across the region.
"Helping women-led businesses to scale and succeed is critical to harnessing long-term, sustainable growth in the local and national economies and we welcome the opportunity to work with leaders in our local ecosystem to support female-led businesses in securing investment."
Tracy Sherratt, 海角视频 senior network senior manager for the West Midlands at British Business Bank, added: "We know that female entrepreneurs can face additional barriers when seeking investment in comparison to their male counterparts.
"The British Business Bank is keen to play its part in breaking down these barriers and supporting a platform for women to succeed in their sector."