City Networking
Southampton’s Business Networking Event
Join business owners and decision makers in Southampton to make meaningful partnerships. At these networking events, we discourage ‘sales pitches’ for short-term wins and aim to build on a strong business community for Southampton.
Hosted by GO! Southampton and Unity 101
ABOUT THIS EVENT:
City Networking is a B2B event for city representatives, GO! Southampton member businesses, council representatives, and people from Southampton’s community organisations. GO! Southampton fund this event, making it free for all attendees.
GO! Southampton enjoy working closely with Unity 101 to guarantee these events are a true representation of Southampton’s diverse business community.
Your business must be based in Southampton to attend. Did we mention that sales pitches are banned? This event is for making meaningful connections in our beautiful city. Limited to 100 people.
If you share the images from City Networking, please credit Ryan Stanikk where possible.
NEXT EVENT DATES:
PAST NETWORKING EVENTS:
Danica Payne Aesthetics & Dental [December 2024]
The beautiful networking event which heard from the new owners at the pier, brother Imran and Fahim from Indian restaurant Déjà Vu Royal Pier.
Sandhya Banerjee, Sutapa Mukherjee and Suparna Kundu also spoke about their heartfelt work as The Foodbank Angels of Southampton.

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Host: Aryana Neo, Presenter, Pageant Queen and Actor
Speakers:
- Déjà Vu Royal Pier, the new owners Imran Talukder and Fahim Talukder
- Sandhya Banerjee, Sutapa Mukherjee and Suparna Kundu from The Foodbank Angels of Southampton
Catering by the Bagel Factory.
Location: Danica Payne Aesthetics & Dental, West Quay, Unit 70 Lower, Southampton SO15 1QE
[West Quay underpass]
Orange Rooms [September 2024]
The networking event which had masses of food, and cool 70s style.

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Who knew networking could be this groovy?
Our September City Networking event at Orange Rooms was packed with great speakers, great people, and great food (those fresh burritos from Mexigo were a hit!). With Aryana Neo—Radio Presenter & Mrs Galaxy England 2023—hosting the event, the energy was high from start to finish.
Lou Taylor, Director of Black History Month South, captivated everyone with stories of how he got involved with Black History Month South, and how the city can support and celebrate black history. Susan Beckett, Executive Director of City Eye, passionately shed light on the Seventeenth Annual Southampton Film Week from 8th – 17th November 2024. We also had an inspiring talk by Gary Benneton, Owner of Orange Rooms, who gave us a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the venue’s journey from its early days to now.
The conversations continued well past the speeches, with plenty of networking and fresh ideas being shared—helped along by the fantastic food and drinks, of course.
Host: Aryana Neo, Radio Presenter & Mrs Galaxy England 2023
Speakers:
Lou Taylor, Director of Black History Month South
Susan Beckett, Executive Director, City EyeLocation: Orange Rooms, 1-2 Vernon Walk, Southampton SO15 2EJ
Catering: Local business Mexigo made fresh burritos for attendees. Drinks were provided by Orange Rooms.
Boom Battle Bar [June 2024]
The networking event which combined Jane Austen, local businesses, and axes!

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“No drinking before throwing that axe!”. At this City Networking event we had new business managers in the city meeting with key stakeholders while enjoying the activities at Boom Battle Bar. We heard from speakers sharing insights on the Jane Austen 250 anniversary and local business opportunities happening this Summer.
Partnerships could be heard being made during a game of augmented darts, while other organisations spoke with local historians on how to participate in the Jane Austen 250 celebrations over a game of shuffleboard.
Networking continued over delicious food and drinks, discussing future collaborations that would benefit Southampton’s business community, before going off to sing their favourite ballad in the karaoke rooms.
Key speakers on the night:
- Claire Whitaker CBE, CEO, Southampton Forward introducing the Jane Austen 250 anniversary year in 2025
- Historian Dr Cheryl Butler, sharing insights on Jane Austen 250 and how businesses can get involved
- Daniel Crow, Director, a-space arts – Launching the exciting news of the Jane Austen writing desk coming to Southampton in November 2024
Host: Aryana Neo, Radio Presenter, Actor & Mrs Galaxy England 2023 [https://aryananeo.com]
Location: Boom Battle Bar, Lower Level, South Unit WM03, West Street, Southampton, SO15 1DE [https://boombattlebar.com/uk/southampton]
Entertainment: Axe throwing, augmented dart lanes, shuffleboard tables, American pool tables and a karaoke room [pick your activities on the night].
Food & Drink: Provided by Boom Battle Bar
The 1865 [April 2024]
The networking event where city pride was celebrated, followed by a large ukulele performance. Where we learnt some Bollywood moves, before tucking into Roosters Piri Piri!

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Speakers:
- Fay Draper, Cruise Manager at ABP: Fay will be talking about the synergies between our port and city for a flourishing Southampton. She will also be launching the new volunteer scheme in partnership with GO! Southampton
- Edward Frank Morris, Founder of Enigmatica: Enigmatica has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Finance, and Edward will be sharing his insight into AI and the benefits.
Extras:
- Entertainment, including Southampton Ukulele Jam
- IKEA, with their prize wheel – what will you win?
- Catering from Roosters Piri Piri
- Backstage tour and venue hire information [optional]
Host Aryana Neo, Radio Presenter & Mrs Galaxy England 23
Venue: The 1865, Brunswick Square, Southampton
UK Shaolin Centre [December 2023]
This event saw a Chinese Lion dancing, next to a photobooth by a local photography charity. We celebrated creative agencies in the city, after the novelty of trying out Thai Chi in our workwear.

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SPEAKERS AND ENTERTAINMENT
- Robin Waldman, Founder & Creative Director of RCM Agency – sharing industry insights and stories
- Martine Niven, PureBei based at UK Shaolin Centre
- Host Aryana Neo, Radio Presenter and Mrs Galaxy England 2023
- Chinese Lion Dance plus meet & greet photo opportunity
- Photobooth by local organisation InFocus
- First look at the willow dragons for the Chinese New Year Dragon Trail
Catering
- M’ Dim Sum (local Chinese restaurant and fellow BID member)
LOCATION
UK Shaolin Centre, Unit 2, Marlands Shopping Centre [Between CEX and OneBelow]
Civic Centre Road, Southampton, SO14 7SJ
Kuti’s Restaurant [September 2023]
The networking event which promoted the ‘Black Business Arts and Music’ (BBAM) festival. It launched a new Turkish family-run business which is combines a public coffee shop near the parks in the city, and an architect studio. We also heard about the future of telecommunications from a local business.

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Key speakers on the night:
• Dr. Abdoulie Sanneh on behalf of The United Voice of African Associations• Aycan Erinsel Ozistek, Owner of Inco Design and representation for Reflections Designlife Gallery and Coffeelogy• Mike Connolly, Co-Founder of Zappie Communications• Kuti Miah, Owner of Kuti’s BrasserieLocation: Kuti’s Brasserie, The Royal Pier, Mayflower Park, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 2AQ
Ruby’s at the Grand [June 2023]
The networking event which showcased some of the city’s amazing culture.

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Guest singers:
- Emily Babey & Aneesha
- Naila Caruso
- Haimanti Kumar
Speakers:
- Dahlia Jamil, Chief Executive, Art Asia. Dahlia will be speaking about Southampton Mela Festival.
- Celeste Ingrams, Creative Programme Assistant, ‘a space’ arts. Celeste will be speaking about the Arches Studios.
Location: Rubys at the Grand (below The Grand) South Western House, Terminus Terrace, Southampton, SO14 3AS
SeaCity Museum [March 2023]
The networking event which saw a belly dancer kicking off proceeding in the museum, before a local clothing printing company gave business lessons learnt, and we heard more about Network Eagle Labs in Southampton while eating delicious Lebanese food.

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Host: Aryana Neo
Key speakers on the night:
- Jann Railton, Owner of Blue Piranha, a Southampton-based clothing company
- Mark Rands, Eco-Sytem Manager, Network Eagle Lab
Location: SeaCity Museum, Havelock Rd, Southampton, SO14 7FY
Catering & entertainment: Beity Lebanese Restaurant
John Lewis [December 2022]
The networking event that mixed local businesses, local press and local wine!

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Key speakers on the night:
- Ben Fishwick – Editor, The Daily Echo
- Ben Halton – Port Operations Manager, DP World
- Vijay Sunder and Nuno Franco – Co-Founders of Indian Grape Charmer Wine
Location: The Place to Eat, John Lewis & Partners (Top Floor), Westquay Shopping Centre, 23 Harbour Parade, Southampton, SO15 1QA
Decathlon [September 2022]
The networking event that happened in the middle of Decathlon!

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Thanks to all those involved, including the speakers, host, caterers and entertainment:
- Tobias Hussey, Store Manager, Decathlon
- Paulina Kozlowska, owner of 4 businesses including Sea Life Play Centre
- Harry Kutty, Headteacher of Cantell School and Chair of the Aspire Community Trust
- Marcel Cullers, Director of Security Nation
- Peter Robertson, Senior Head of MPS & Business Development at DEOS Group
- Aryana Neo, Presenter
Photos by Ryan Stanikk Photography:
Steamship Shieldhall (docked) [June 2022]
The networking event that happened on a ship! Hearing updates from education and child friendly cities to the excitement of UEFA Women’s Euro. We also got to tour the preserved steamship that operates from Southampton.

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SPEAKERS
- Stephen Manion, GO! Southampton
- Jason Murphy, Child Friendly Southampton
- Michael Steel, Managing Director, Kiwi Education
- Emalene Hickman, Project Officer for UEFA Women’s Euro 2022
Hosted by Aryana Neo
Catering by Steamship Shieldhall
IKEA Restaurant [March 2022]
The networking event which happened over IKEA meatballs!

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Thanks to all those involved, including the speakers, host, caterers and entertainment:
- Liam Faulds, IKEA Business Leader
- Zoie Golding, Artistic Director, Zoie Logic Dance Theatre
- Shelina Permalloo, Chair, Southampton UK City of Culture Bid; Owner, Lakaz Maman Restaurant
- Ram Kalyan ‘Kelly’, Founder, Unity 101 Community Radio
- Tim Keeping, Chair, GO! Southampton BID
- Aryana Neo, Radio Presenter & Mrs Galaxy England 2023
Address: IKEA Restaurant, Leisure World, Southampton SO15 1AE
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