Urbano - Connecting Companies Facilitating Opportunities

Introducing Urbano
Whether through curiosity following your first Urbano event, an introduction from a member, or during a visit to the Urbano website, this page sets out to explain what I really can't: what do members get out of their membership of Urbano?

To get an honest answer, you should ask those you know who are members, but to help here is some background to the network and what I try to achieve as Urbano's Connector-In-Chief.

Where did Urbano begin? 
20 years + of running Urbano (including its earliest iteration, Shoreditch Business Network) have shown me that whilst I can’t prove the tangible or even intangible benefits of being a part of our business community before you have actually joined, I am lucky that very few members leave and even then only because their business circumstances changed rather than their opinion about Urbano.

What type of companies are part of Urbano?
We have around 100 member companies which vary in size from individuals to those with up to 250 employees. Our sweet spot of members is SMEs with between 5 - 100 employees, most of which work in our Build, Create-Media, and Tech communities, though we have others from software developers and designers to HR consultants and environmental specialists.

I like to think around the table at any Urbano event are all the skills and experience you need to create a brilliant Board that could run any company.

Most have a base or focus on London, as that is where we host nearly all of our events, but we have members in Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford, Bristol, Somerset and Worcester (me!).

Urbano’s mix of member companies and the diversity of their services, plus our own experience running Talent Lab which itself works with a mix of PLCs and SMEs, helps us deliver a business community that is a pro-active valuable resource for our members.

I like to think Urbano offers any business – especially those that run and create them - the kind of conversations, connections, information and support not easily found elsewhere.

Our focus is on nurturing the kind of relationships between companies that do lead to opportunities to become suppliers, associates or to collaborate on projects and tenders.

Being a catalyst to a rich mix of connections between a diverse range of companies remains at the heart of what we try to encourage and facilitate at Urbano.

Who attends events?
Most of our events are aimed at the director level and equivalents, but our speaker panel breakfasts are open to all levels of businesses to allow those with relevant interests in the topic to attend.

But most people comment that Urbano attracts the kind of busy business people who whilst careful in where they spend their time networking are also friendly and know that it is real conversations - rather than a series of micro pitches - that lead to real business opportunities.

To hope you meet some of them, here is our calendar for 2025 into 2026

Wednesday October 22^nd – Top Table networking lunch, COYA Mayfair

Thursday November 6^th – Speaker panel networking breakfast: How to win new business and clients

Thursday November 20^th – Build Top Table networking lunch, Quaglino’s

Thursday December 11^th – Christmas Top Table networking lunch, Kanishka by Atol Kucchar

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Thursday January 15^th – Speaker panel networking breakfast: Commercial Property Outlook, 2026

Thursday January 22^nd - Top Table networking lunch, Venue TBC

Thursday February 5^th – Speaker panel networking breakfast: How SMEs can demonstrate their purpose (including discussion on B Corp)

Thursday February 26^th – Urbano Build (Pre MIPIM) Top Table networking lunch, Venue TBC

The calendar of confirmed Urbano and our member events can be viewed here: Events @ Urbano

Tendering
As Urbano, we source, filter and send out a weekly list of tenders and frameworks suitable for SMEs.

Company Members of Urbano - our most popular status is the equivalent of £7.60 a week - can request ones that are relevant to their services.

As Urbano, I continue to press for SMEs to be given a fairer chance at winning public sector work, including as part of project supply chains. I will return to this in 2026 with another speaker panel event once the government publishes its plans to improve the share SMEs can win through tendering.  

As Talent Lab, we have created a Capability Statement on our expertise and experience in engagement with SMEs, including tendering training, here: https://www.talentlab.co.uk/projects/tendering/the-new-procurement-act-and-smes-turn-words-into-actions/

The latest list of live tenders and frameworks be found here: Tenders @ Urbano

Urbano - The Sustainable Business Network
I call Urbano ‘The Sustainable Business Network’, not just because we have hosted speaker events on ‘sustainability’ stretching back to 2003 and challenged companies and individuals to make active changes on this front, but also because of our experience of bringing together those that create and run companies to help them adapt to the ever-changing challenges of running a successful enterprise.

We continue to develop this commitment, inviting event speakers to share with us their knowledge on ESG and their own company journeys on the pathway to net zero carbon. Membership and sponsorship of Urbano can also be used to demonstrate elements measured under social value for use on bids.

Fees
You can find out more about costs and services here: Urbano Membership

Our supporters and members pay for Urbano to exist and together we fund services we offer to the community. Often, the value of membership can be measured by one conversation and connection which Urbano creates during the year.

If you are interested in being part of a proactive community with me as the hyperactive spider at the centre of the web sharing information, making introductions and always looking for the right event to bring different businesses together, you can book an event to meet me (I host most of them) or take a punt which will cost you and your company less than a gin and tonic each week.

But if you have any specific questions, you can email them to me.

Haste el networking con Urbano siempre!

Mark

Mark Herring

* The price shown on this page is the sost of a Company Annual Membership, paid via invoice.