Adding to the great lineup of events in March is the South Yorkshire Women in Business Conference in Doncaster, a half day of inspiring speakers. Ideal for business leaders, educators, investors, policymakers, and partners who want to turn ambition into action.
Funding & Support Opportunities for Northern Founders
🚀 From pre‑seed investment to funding readiness and national pitch stages, a wave of regional and UK‑wide programmes are now open for founders, particularly those in the North. We made a roundup of the opportunities available right now, don't miss out. buff.ly/p7SK7AR
A former UK managing partner at DLA Piper is to lead LEXcelerate – a new Sheffield-based AI law firm. LEXcelerate has been launched by Yorkshire AI Labs and aims to do for conveyancing what Uber did for taxis. The launch comes at a time of rapid change in the legal profession.
TECH SY's Project Director is part of the panel for this Meet the Investors techUK event in Sheffield on 24th March, in partnership with British Business Bank. This free event connects SMEs with investors and experts to share funding insights and for networking. buff.ly/Hh8Te0U #SheffEvents
Now in its third year, Praeseed aims to find and fund top pre-seed businesses in the North. It includes six weeks of VC-led investor-readiness support and a £200k equity investment available. 85% of the first Praeseed cohort secured additional funding. 🌱
Apply by 10 April buff.ly/b2KTxe2
Barnsley Startup Meetup is heading to Spiral City on Thursday 12th March for an evening focused on the “why” and “how” of our local ecosystem.
Matt Snowden from TECH SY will be diving deep into two years of data to show us exactly where the region’s tech landscape is headed.
The Climb Tour arrives in Sheffield next week, with talks from British Business Bank, VC firms, local founders, and our Project Director will make an appearance, plus open and networking. At The Diamond, University of Sheffield on 11 March from 3pm. Register for free buff.ly/RK85h5G #SheffEvents
Venture.Community and Sheffield.Digital are hosting a special UKTechWeek Innovation Showcase on Thu 19th March at 1pm. Meet some of the best and brightest from our formidable region with quick-fire presentations, demos and much more. Perfect for founders, investors and innovators. buff.ly/vifyTrJ
Funding options for founders can be confusing. Join Barclays Eagle Labs online programme with Capital Enterprise to navigate the funding journey. It covers grant funding, crowdfunding, equity investment, and alternative funding methods. Applications close on 13 March. Apply now:
Entries for the 2026 Northern Tech Awards are now open! In their thirteenth year, the Awards shine a spotlight on the fastest-growing and most promising tech companies in the North of the UK. Entries open until 20 March.
South Yorkshire SMEs, third sector and self‑employed professionals can join Prof Kamal Birdi’s CLEAR IDEAS workshop. 26th March at the Crucible Sheffield. £25, max 2 per org. Hands‑on and follow‑up coaching. Part‑funded by SYMCA Skills Bank. Register: buff.ly/mq8GmhO #SouthYorkshire #Innovation
Founded by Owen Ball and Shaf Ahmed, Doncaster-based startup GeCo Technologies has launched an AI-powered platform that helps teachers create curriculum-aligned resources with built‑in SEND adaptations. buff.ly/qAP2eaq #EdTech #Startup
Business leaders and finance professionals can join British Business Bank's breakfast event for the latest economic insights on Sheffield and South Yorkshire plus a fireside chat.
📆 Wednesday 18th March, 8:00–10:00am
📍 The Mowbray, Sheffield
Register now to secure your place:
In the UK, only 2% of funding goes to women-led businesses – and more than half of that doesn’t leave London. Billions of pounds are being left on the table while businesses are navigating years of political instability in our economy, which the rebranded Lifted Project is tackling.
Join Allentra's roadshow for expert advice on US market entry. Ideal for companies with £2M-£100M turnover or Series A+ funding. This free session is on Thursday 19th March at Bloc, Bruntwood SciTech; gain critical insights from US specialists. Learn more and apply:
Since 2020, South Yorkshire startups have raised more than £360M in VC funding, with comparable investment levels as other mid‑sized UK ecosystems such as Bristol, West Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear and the East Midlands.
Discover more SY tech data on the SY Dealroom platform: buff.ly/RKtdQTK
Early-stage engineers and innovators in Northern England, NI and Wales can now apply for the Royal Academy of Engineering's pre-accelerator programme, Regional Talent Engines. Perfect for with budding ideas. Apply by 14th April: buff.ly/dsgIvVP #EngineeringInnovation #StartupGrowth
As well as their digital events calendar, Sheffield.Digital now have a meetup directory so you can see what tech and digital events are coming up in Sheffield and South Yorkshire:
Celebrate the 2-year anniversary of The Furnace, an exciting incubator programme hosted at the DMC in Barnsley open to anyone with a tech idea or innovation. You'll hear from Furnace alumni about the challenges they overcame, their successes, and their ambitions for the future.
Businesses across the region are encouraged to take part in a 5-minute survey designed to map Yorkshire’s strengths in defence, security, aerospace, cyber and dual‑use supply chains, to support a Yorkshire Defence and Security Cluster for boosting collaboration and inward investment.
GC Angels in partnership with Bruntwood SciTech, successfully brought together more than 150 investors, founders and ecosystem partners from across the UK including startups from Sheffield at its inaugural Early-Stage Northern Showcase: Investor x Founder event.
We're happy to officially join Sheffield.Digital as an Ecosystem Partner, marking a further step in strengthening collaboration across South Yorkshire’s growing tech and digital community, sharing ambitions, priorities, resources and opportunities to support tech companies.
AI Skills Boost is a free training offer, built by leading industry partners and backed by Skills England and DSIT. Courses take anywhere from 20 minutes to a day, to fit around working life and teach practical skills making use of AI technologies. Their initial focus is on SMEs. buff.ly/GrW8Q2O
Mercia are inviting women in business to their next “people & panel” Rise & Thrive event in Sheffield.
✨ Thursday 5 March, 1pm–4pm, The Kapital Sheffield.
Join them to spark conversation, connection and new opportunities, with lunch provided. #SheffEvents
RSVP to save your spot: buff.ly/FcsyEl9
Big ambitions for Doncaster have been agreed in a refreshed city strategy. Projects like the £32M Gateway One digital & tech hub will create new jobs. Education and industry are key with a second University Technical College confirmed, focusing on healthcare and green technologies. buff.ly/0wssFpi
Join NUX Sheffield to explore how human centred design helps us navigate uncertainty, and ask better questions at work and beyond on 5th March. A Senior UX Researcher at IBM will be speaking. NUX is a friendly welcoming space for everyone.
Grab your FREE ticket today buff.ly/b8fxDTy#UX #UXDesign
March is looking busy for South Yorkshire's tech ecosystem! 🌱
We’ve pulled together a full roundup of the key events happening across the region (and a couple just beyond), including UK Tech Week and local meetups. Get involved with those building and scaling.
📆 See what's on:
Help shape how public sector data powers innovation. The Government want to hear from businesses, researchers and public bodies about the public sector data you need to grow, innovate and deliver better services, including AI developers and researchers. Closing 28 Feb. buff.ly/h8xP50H
Business Sheffield are running their popular 'How to Become a Public Sector Supplier' event aimed at businesses operating in health and social care on Weds 18 March at Electric Works, Sheffield. Secure a ticket while you can to meet public sector buyers. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-bec...
