The Female Founders Growth Summit 2026 comes to Edinburgh’s Royal Bank of Scotland Gogarburn on Thursday 1st October, bringing together women actively scaling businesses beyond £1 million turnover with founders, investors and operators from across the UK and internationally.
Now in its third year, the summit is designed for women who are already going through the scaleup journey and who are deciding what comes next. Increasing numbers of female entrepreneurs are going from £1 million to £5 million, £10 million and beyond and this event combines invaluable insight from those who are successfully growing their businesses, alongside carefully curated Growth Clinics which equip attendees with practical, actionable takeaways, inspiration and new connections to accelerate business growth.
The 2026 programme brings global entrepreneurship to Scotland. Speakers include Stina Ehrensvärd, the Swedish-American founder of Yubico and co-inventor of the YubiKey, now used by nine of the world’s ten largest internet companies; Christa Pitts, co-founder and co-CEO of The Lumistella Company, the business behind The Elf on the Shelf®, whose products have reached families in more than 33 countries; Liz Upton, co-founder of Raspberry Pi, who led marketing as the company passed 60 million units sold and floated on the London Stock Exchange; Clare Roberts OBE, founder and chief executive of Kid’s Planet, built from two nurseries in 2008 to more than 200 across the UK; and Leeanne Hundleby, co-founder of luxury leather goods brand Strathberry, which sells internationally from a base in Scotland.
Sessions cover international growth, leadership, investment, marketing and building impact at scale. Delegates will also take part in dedicated growth clinics covering international growth strategy, culture and leadership, and funding routes, alongside one-to-one time with investors and ecosystem partners.
The summit is hosted by Pathways Forward, the initiative founded by Scotland’s chief entrepreneur, Ana Stewart, following her Pathways report, and delivered in partnership with SuperScalers, Buy Women Built and The ScaleUp Institute.
Ana Stewart, Scotland’s Chief Entrepreneur and founder of Pathways Forward, said: “Scotland has never been short of ambitious women starting businesses. Where we lose ground is at the point of scale, and that gap costs the economy far more than most people realise. Whilst one in five companies in the UK are female-led less than one in 50 are scaling beyond £10m. This summit brings UK and global female entrepreneurs to Scotland to share their lived experiences and inspire others to continue on their growth journeys.”
Leeanne Hundleby, Co-founder of Strathberry, the Scottish luxury leather goods which has grown into one of the UK’s most recognised names in luxury accessories and a brand famously favored by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, will be a guest speaker for an in-conversation session with Joanna Jenson, one of the UK’s most distinctive voices on entrepreneurship, on going global at the summit. Leeanne said: “Building a global brand from Scotland has been one of the most rewarding and challenging parts of the Strathberry journey. Going into new markets isn’t simply about selling internationally; it’s about understanding your customer, protecting what makes your brand distinctive and having the ambition to compete on a global stage.
“I’m really looking forward to sharing our experience at the Female Founders Growth Summit and, just as importantly, hearing from other founders who are navigating their own journeys of international growth.”
Christa Pitts, Co-founder and co-CEO of The Lumistella Company, the business behind The Elf on the Shelf, whose products have reached families in more than 33 countries, said: “There is enormous power in sharing the lessons, the setbacks and the opportunities that come with growing and scaling a company. That’s what makes gatherings like the Female Founders Growth Summit so valuable. It brings together women who are ambitious about growth and creates the space to learn from one another, challenge each other and think about what’s possible. I’m really looking forward to being part of that conversation.”
Sam Smith, Co-founder and CEO of SuperScalers, added: “Scaling is a very different job from founding, and we’re building a network to help more women to grow. We’re on a mission to increase the number of female SuperScalers, which we define as a founder or co-founder who has scaled a business to £50m+ revenue. To do this community and inspiration matter and I’m excited to present our latest research and some scaling techniques in Edinburgh.”
Darren Pirie, Royal Bank of Scotland, Head of Accelerator & Partnerships, said: “We are proud to partner with the Female Founders Growth Summit to champion women-led businesses to help build a stronger more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Anna Vaughan, Scottish National Investment Bank, Director of Marketing and Communications, said: “We are proud to support the Female Founders Growth Summit again as we value the important role it plays in helping more women-led businesses build connections, attract investment and realise their ambitions.”
A limited number of tickets remain, across founder, investor and ecosystem supporter categories. Full details and registration are at femalefoundersgrowthsummit.com
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