Powering SME growth

SME XPO attracts forward thinking decision makers from a wide range of SMEs, including ambitious founders and owners of micro and small businesses, to C-Suite and management teams of larger SMEs who have grown to employ a sizeable workforce.

It creates an environment where professionals from SMEs can find partners to help them take their businesses to the next level.

Exhibiting at the event enables you to influence, reach, and convert our audience of SME decision-makers.

Why take part in SME XPO?

To Do Business: 93% of visitors were likely or extremely likely to do business with an exhibitor.
Generate Leads: On average our exhibitors generated over 100 high quality leads from our audience of 5000 owners and founders of fast-growth businesses.
Brand Awareness: Improve your prospective customers’ perspective of your brand, and make them more likely to do select you in the future.
Media Publicity: Gain promotion across our wide-scale and high engagement marketing campaign, which reaches 20m+ people across the UK.

What makes SME XPO unique?

Exclusively for Business Owners
SME XPO is uniquely focused on founders and leadership teams of scaling businesses. We do not admit students or aspiring entrepreneurs, ensuring our audience consists solely business leaders seeking growth.
Curated for Scale-Up Success
Every aspect of SME XPO is designed around the key drivers of scaling up: funding, investment, talent, market access, technological solutions and more. Sponsors have the chance to align with the topics and challenges that matter most to this high-growth audience.
World-Class Conference Lineup
Our conference program exclusively features entrepreneurs who have successfully scaled their own businesses, drawing a motivated and serious audience eager to learn and invest in growth.
Guided by Industry-Leading Partners
SME XPO is a scaleup itself and is supported by an exceptional Advisory Board of strategic partners, including the ScaleUp Institute, VenturePath, EISA, Elite Business, the Evening Standard and more.
Together, they ensure the SME XPO is impactful, credible, and 100% aligned with the needs of fast growth businesses.
Best-in-Class Sponsors and Exhibitors
SME XPO is a magnet for world-class sponsors and exhibitors offering cutting-edge solutions. Joining us ensures your brand stands alongside the very best, positioned as a trusted partner for scaling businesses.

Click here for Sponsorship Terms & Conditions

Exhibition/Sponsorship Enquiry

We have a variety of stand options and partnerships available for you and we can tailor these to most budgets.

If you’d like to find out more about exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, please complete the form below and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly.

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Exhibitor and Sponsor List

Visitor Profile

Testimonials

"SME XPO is all about networking, discovering new brands, new partnerships, and new opportunities. For Shutterstock, it has been a fantastic opportunity to meet new clients and also tell our story of how we can help SMEs grow their business."

Shutterstock

"It’s the best event we’ve done since I’ve been part of the Gold-Vision team and we’re really looking forward to next year!

We met some really great attendees, and we’re even looking at closing a 150-user deal with one of them – which would be one of our biggest customers to date. Can’t get better than that!"

Gold-Vision

"It was a pleasure partnering with the Evening Standard for their inaugural SME XPO. Having the opportunity to talk to such a range of SMEs about exporting and how DIT could help in their exporting journey was fantastic, and something we look forward to doing more of in the future. "

Department for International Trade

"The truth is, SME XPO is the best show we have been to. There are lots of people here and great conversations taking place - it’s amazing!"

Vivup

"GoTo decided to be the main sponsor at SME XPO because it’s so important that, in this day and age, small and medium businesses are really well supported with their business communications. Events like this and the thought leadership that is provided through the conference and the conversations that happen on the stand, provide SMEs with an opportunity to mingle with their peers and get new ideas and be really part of an entrepreneurial spirit. That’s something that GoTo really wants to be a part of."

GoTo

"We were delighted to take part in the SME XPO this year and meet so many visionary founders and partners. The Virgin StartUp Lounge welcomed hundreds of business owners looking to learn more about our start-up, scale-up, and mentoring programs, and we were excited to be there and offer them advice. A highlight was certainly the pitches we’ve heard from over 30 founders, through which we sent 4 winners on luxury cruises sponsored by Virgin Voyages."

Virgin StartUp

"Events like SME XPO give businesses a chance to start building relationships with their prospective customers. I didn’t have to think twice when I was asked to speak at SME XPO."

Levi Roots

"SMEs are the backbone of British industry. They inspire and inject new ideas and energy into the business, bringing much-needed change to the status quo. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely existence – particularly when the going gets tough. To find a forum like SME XPO where hundreds of like-minded people can meet, share and learn from one another is about as valuable as it gets."

Wilfred Emmanuel Jones

"The easiest, most enjoyable bit of starting a business is creating a physical thing - but for sales and scaling up, you need to reach out to anyone you can for strategic help – that’s why events like SME XPO are so brilliant, you can get inspiration by listening to how other people have done it, and learn how you can be the noisy one to cut through the rest of the market."

Trinny Woodall

"In a world where we are constantly connected by the digital world it is important to have a little of the human touch. Events like SME XPO give businesses a chance to start building relationships with their prospective customers. You know the people attending want to be there. It’s also a good time to take a look at the competition, to see what they’re up to, if there are any gaps in the market that you could take advantage of for your own business.

SME are a vital part of our economy, they drive innovation. Because they able to respond to markets much quicker than their larger counterparts they are often at the forefront of change. I am a big advocate of SME’s. I have even written a book “You Can Get It If You Really Want” – and I spend most of my time now trying to inspire the next generation of budding entrepreneurs. I didn’t have to think twice when I was asked [to speak at SME XPO]."

Wilfred Emmanuel Jones

"Scaleups are vital for the UK's current and future economic prosperity. As our most ambitious and innovative businesses, who contribute over 50% of the UK’s SME economic output, they have the power to generate economic growth and high-skilled jobs in every locality and sector, and we know that, even in these uncertain and challenging times, they want to push ahead on growth, innovation and internationalisation. An event such as SME XPO can play an important part in focusing on our scaling community and connecting them to the ecosystem that can support them to achieve their growth ambitions - which is why the ScaleUp Institute is delighted to be partnering with the Evening Standard on this new initiative."

The ScaleUp Institute

Sponsorship and Exhibiting Opportunities

Powering SME growth

Exhibition/Sponsorship Enquiry

Testimonials

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