At Evergreen Awards, we are proud to honor CostNav and Blooming Bud Innovations as the Best Tech Innovation for Small Businesses in the United Kingdom of 2026. This recognition reflects the remarkable journey of Olabimpe Oladimeji, a visionary entrepreneur who has transformed the way small creative businesses approach financial management and technology.

From Kitchen to Technology Leadership

Olabimpe Oladimeji began her entrepreneurial journey not in a tech incubator but in the warmth of a kitchen. Running a cake business, she experienced firsthand the challenges that countless creative entrepreneurs face: fluctuating ingredient prices, manual record-keeping, and the difficulty of understanding true profitability. These early experiences ignited her passion for creating tools that provide clarity and structure for small businesses, particularly those driven by creativity.

Building Solutions Rooted in Real Experience

Rather than taking a conventional path through software engineering, Olabimpe turned her practical challenges into digital solutions. Her experiences managing costs, tracking orders, and balancing creative work with business responsibilities directly informed the development of CostNav. This financial management platform is uniquely tailored for bakers, artisans, and small creative enterprises, giving them the ability to cost products accurately, track ingredient prices in real time, and understand actual profit margins. Through CostNav, small businesses gain a level of financial visibility often unavailable to them, empowering them to make informed decisions with confidence.

Blooming Bud Innovations: Fostering Community and Growth

Beyond product development, Olabimpe established Blooming Bud Innovations to provide digital solutions and learning opportunities for creative entrepreneurs. The organization focuses on mentorship, practical training, and collaborative learning, showing business owners how to apply Agile methodology and structured approaches to their operations. These programs bring technology thinking into creative enterprises, helping members apply frameworks used by the world’s most successful companies to bakeries, artisan food businesses, and other small creative ventures.

Driving Financial Clarity Across Creative Industries

The heart of CostNav lies in addressing a critical challenge for creative businesses: understanding the true cost and profitability of their products. By reflecting the realities of small-scale creative production, CostNav allows entrepreneurs to move beyond guesswork or generic accounting tools. Thousands of small food and craft businesses across the United Kingdom now have the ability to manage their finances with precision, a transformative step for the creative economy.

Recognition and Industry Impact

Olabimpe’s work has not gone unnoticed. She was named a finalist in the Best Tech Startup category at the UK Small Business Awards in 2025, showcasing her innovative contributions to technology for small businesses. Additionally, she actively participates in professional networks highlighting women in technology, sharing insights on inclusive innovation, digital product development, and supporting underrepresented markets. Her speaking engagements and community-building efforts amplify the reach of her mission, ensuring that practical technological solutions are accessible to creative entrepreneurs everywhere.

Transforming Small Business Operations with Measurable Results

The impact of CostNav and Blooming Bud Innovations extends beyond technology alone. Small business owners report a significant reduction in time spent on manual calculations and administrative tasks, allowing them to focus more on creativity and growth. Users frequently highlight how the platforms provide clarity on pricing strategies, ingredient costs, and profit margins, helping them make informed decisions that directly improve their bottom line. By combining practical tools with accessible learning resources, Olabimpe Oladimeji has created a holistic ecosystem where technology and entrepreneurship intersect to empower creative small businesses across the United Kingdom.

Leading Innovation Through Experience

Olabimpe Oladimeji’s story demonstrates how lived experience can drive technological innovation. By addressing the specific needs of small creative businesses, she has created tools, communities, and educational initiatives that empower entrepreneurs to thrive. Through CostNav and Blooming Bud Innovations, Olabimpe continues to expand possibilities for the creative economy, helping small businesses achieve financial clarity, operational confidence, and sustainable growth.

Prospective users and supporters of these innovative solutions can explore more through the official website CostNav and Blooming Bud Innovations initiatives, LinkedIn and Instagram.