An audience of more than 500 entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors at the Venturefest WM 2024 in Birmingham on Thursday 21st March, voted Mandeep the winner of this year’s Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up competition, which traditionally closes the annual festival of innovation.

Venturefest WM, which was held at the Eastside Rooms offers West Midlands entrepreneurs and innovators, especially those in the fields of science and emerging technologies, a unique opportunity to develop and grow their businesses by meeting with potential investors, support organisations and other cutting-edge companies.

Mandeep’s business, Bendi, is a technology startup that specialises in the apparel industry. It uses data and technology to track and monitor supply chains to identify potential environmental and human rights risks, with an overall goal to help companies ensure their products are ethically made.

She pitched her proposition for investment in the head-to-head Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up contest, this year sponsored by NatWest Banking, in front of the Venturefest audience who then voted her business as the winner.

Mandeep said, “I believe in our company, I believe in what we’re doing, but I never expected us to be pitching to win, it was an amazing experience.

“Bendi does two things, firstly we help organisations with complex supply chains to understand them, helping them to map in moments, instead of months or years, and then once we understand those suppliers, we then help businesses to monitor them.”

Over the last nine years, Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up has put scores of entrepreneurs directly in front of investors and helped bring over £65 million of investments to the region's small businesses.

Last year, Kameese Davis’s business, Sandwell-based Nylah Hair, Heritage, and Science, won the Dragon’s Den style pitch up. The business supplies quality products for afro and curly hair care.

Venturefest WM is organised and led by a range of regional partners, including the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the Innovation Alliance WM, six regional universities, Bruntwood SciTech, Tech West Midlands and Business Growth WM.

The event was sponsored this year by ICure, Electric Revolution Skills Hub, Medilink, VWV, Natwest, Penningtons Manches Cooper and University of Birmingham.

For more information about Venturefest WM 2024, visit https://www.venturefestwm.co.u