What makes trips like this special isn’t just the mountains or the views. It’s the people behind it all. SumUppers from across locations came together to connect beyond meetings and screens, share experiences, and spend real time together. Because sometimes the conversations that happen outside of work are the ones that make us work even better together 💙
🤖 How do you build AI skills across a company? You create space for people to try. That’s what we did at our recent AI hackathon in Berlin. In just 48 hours, 85 SumUppers from product, operations, finance, marketing and more came together to turn everyday challenges into working AI prototypes. No coding required. Just curiosity, collaboration, and the willingness to try.
We did it again 🇧🇬🏔️ 800+ of us in Bansko, Bulgaria, coming together from 14 office locations around the world. It started with a few days working side by side in the Sofia office, laptops open. Then suddenly it’s ski lifts, mountain views, long lunches, and bumping into people usually only seen on Slack. It’s a different kind of energy. It makes us feel even more connected, more inspired, and reminded of what we’re building together.
🏳️⚧️ 31 March is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a global moment to celebrate trans, transgender and non-binary people and raise awareness of the barriers many still face in education, employment and access to opportunities. Access to education is still not equal. For many trans, transgender and non-binary people, everyday costs like transport or meals can make it harder to continue their studies. Cursinho Popular Transformação, a project by Ação Educativa in Brazil, is working to change that. The programme combines preparatory courses with practical support, giving students the stability to focus on learning and apply to university 🇧🇷 With SumUp's support, these everyday costs are covered so students can stay engaged in the programme and continue their path to higher education. Last year, seven students applied to university and all were accepted into leading public institutions in Brazil, including the University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the University of Campinas (Unicamp). It shows how removing practical barriers can open access to education and create real opportunities for the future. Supporting initiatives like this is one way we work to expand access to opportunities, while continuing to build an inclusive environment within SumUp, where today 1.2% of our global team self-identifies as transgender.
2025 was a year of meaningful progress at SumUp 🌱✨ Here’s a look back at what we achieved.
Balancing long-term brand building with the pressure to deliver leads is something every marketing team recognises. In the latest CMO Therapy podcast episode, our Marketing Strategist Corin Camenisch shares how we approach this balance at SumUp and why bringing brand and performance closer together can unlock more sustainable growth 💫 In this conversation, Corin touches on the realities behind performance plateaus, the value of smart brand investment, and how teams can find a shared language when discussing impact. It’s a thoughtful look at challenges many marketers face, and reflects the kind of conversations we encourage across our teams at SumUp.
At this year’s Global Women Leaders Forum IDEI in Sofia, SumUp’s Head of Accounting Operations, Violeta Darkeva, took the stage alongside other inspiring leaders to share her perspective during the panel “The unifying role of women in a fractured world”. She spoke about how empowerment, collaboration, and resilience can drive progress in today’s rapidly changing landscape 💬 Organised by the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria (CWBB), the forum creates space for openly sharing real experiences, challenges, and ideas around women’s leadership and empowerment. By bringing together business leaders, NGO representatives, and policymakers, events like this highlight how women leaders connect people, ideas, and communities, helping shape a stronger, more inclusive future in an increasingly turbulent world.
Protecting our planet matters more than ever, for the people of today and tomorrow 🌏 This year marks our 4th year partnering with River Cleanup. Together, we've removed over 280 tonnes of plastic waste from the Citarum River in Indonesia, one of the world's most polluted waterways. But impact goes beyond cleanups. We're also helping strengthen environmental education on the ground, supporting initiatives that empower local communities to reduce plastic waste at the source 💚
From scared to unstoppable. Victoria didn’t come from a sales background, but at SumUp, she found the confidence to grow, connect, and take charge of her future 🚀 Every day is an opportunity to learn, earn, and grow.
SumUp has been in São Paulo since 2013, close to what matters most: small business owners and the talented professionals shaping Brazil’s tech landscape 🇧🇷 Our engineering teams develop solutions tailored to the local market, while contributing directly to our global ecosystem. Watch the video and learn more about our journey in São Paulo 🚀
