Held at The Victoria in Neepsend, the event drew more than 150 attendees and featured a keynote speech from Helen Oldham, founding board director of Lifted Ventures and a long-standing advocate for inclusive investment.
Oldham used the platform to highlight what she described as a “systemic failure” in how capital is distributed to early-stage companies. “Only 2% of UK venture capital goes to all-women teams,” she told the audience. “It’s not about merit. It’s about mindset.”
Citing research that shows women-led companies consistently outperform, Oldham made the case that the exclusion of female founders is not only a question of fairness, but of economic self-sabotage. She also pointed to the lack of female angel investors in the North as a major barrier to progress, arguing that greater diversity among decision-makers is essential if funding patterns are to change.
The event, titled Digital Forge: Scale, Sell or Something Smarter?, brought together a diverse group of participants including Volker Hirsch, former partner at Amadeus Capital; Mike Clarke of YFM Equity Partners; and Stephen Cardwell of Anticus Partners, alongside legal experts from Shakespeare Martineau and Sheffield-based founder Dr. Tim Craggs, who recently raised £4 million from Northern Gritstone for his startup Exciting Instruments.
Attendees also heard live pitches from four early-stage companies:
- NanOncolytics Ltd, developing nanoparticle technology to improve cancer drug delivery
- Mater-AI, applying artificial intelligence to create new materials from waste heat
- Graphene Trace, building smart textiles to help prevent pressure ulcers in patients
- Applatch, a behavioural change app tackling screen addiction in children
Many of the companies presenting were led by women or diverse teams — a reflection, organisers said, of the innovation potential that remains largely untapped in the UK’s funding landscape.
The evening ended with a networking session led by entrepreneur Gary Neville and facilitated by business advisor Andy Hanselman, focused on building new relationships between entrepreneurs, investors and support networks.
Digital Forge was founded to bring together high-growth companies, investors and civic leaders in the North, with the goal of accelerating inclusive innovation. Its next event will take place on Thursday, July 17 in Sheffield, with a theme focused on Reindustrialising the North: Technology, Talent and Investment.
Organisers also announced that free membership will soon launch for qualifying participants — including early-stage founders and investors — in a bid to expand access and support for those building the next generation of businesses across the region.
