24. Capi Money Capi Money is helping to make international payments faster, fairer, and more affordable for developing market business owners. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founders: Mitch Riley and Scott LiddleYear founded: 2023Website: capimoney.comFounders Mitch Riley and Scott Liddle had been working in the FinTech space when they witnessed firsthand how many business owners in emerging markets were being held back by a broken international payments system. They just didn’t have access to the same financial tools and resources as some international contemporaries.They started Capi Money to level the playing field. Capi Money wants to make sending international payments for businesses as easy as Monzo-ing your friend for last night’s dinner. Its admirable mission statement is to make the global financial system fairer, and to grow GDP in emerging markets.For too long, emerging market importers were having to navigate archaic banking institutions, or worse, resort to shady black-market transfers.The main issue for emerging market business owners using these channels is that they often relied on out-dated, paper-based processes, with limited business hours, and crushingly slow transfer times. The result? Unpaid, unhappy suppliers.With Capi Money, business owners in developing markets no longer have to stress about unpaid invoices, and being cut off for late payments. By keeping itself sharply focused on a handful of markets, Capi Money can deliver more favourable foreign exchange rates and speedier settlements, while cutting out the middleman.Plus, Capi Money provides something that traditional banking institutions can’t – its vertically integrated model. This allows for direct, compliant transfers both in, and out, of emerging markets. While keeping its current operations more focused, the Capi Money team wants to have “built the financial rails that move global trade for emerging markets” by 2030.So far, it’s well on its way. To date, Capi Money has raised a pretty staggering €17.2 million in series A round funding, and is backed by trusted partners like Creandum, Firstminute Capital, Y Combinator, and Raba.With their sights set on building the financial tools needed by emerging markets, Riley and Liddle are proving that fairer, faster, and smarter global trade isn’t just possible – it’s already underway.View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.