The 2026 New Year Honours list has a strong showing for people who have helped build better businesses, improved access to finance and made technology more useful in everyday life. It's not just celebrities and public service this year. There are some genuinely relevant names for founders and SME leaders too.

Here’s a quick round-up of the standouts.

SME champions and entrepreneurship

Piers Linney (OBE)
Recognised for services to small business, entrepreneurs, investors, banking, diversity and social mobility. It's a rare combination, and a clear signal that entrepreneurship and opportunity are being taken seriously.

Akin Onal (OBE)
Recognised for services to entrepreneurship. A reminder that building businesses and backing founders is being treated as public value.

Safaraz Ali (OBE)
Recognised for leadership in diversity and inclusion in business. This is the kind of work that doesn't always get headlines, but changes who gets access, training and a fair shot.

Banking, fintech and access to finance

Neeta Avnash Kaur Atkar (CBE)
Recognised for services to small business finance and the British Business Bank. For SMEs, this is the difference between good ideas staying small and good ideas getting funded.

Omar Ali (CBE)
Recognised for services to the financial services industry. The big institutions shape the rules and the products, and improvements here tend to filter through to smaller firms over time.

Gary Andrew Hoffman (CBE)
Chair of Monzo, honoured for services to the economy and sport. Fintech now plays a real role in how small firms run their money, so it is no surprise to see senior leaders being recognised.

Technology and digital skills

Matt Brittin (CBE)
Recognised for services to technology and enhancing digital skills. Digital confidence has become a business advantage, especially for smaller teams trying to do more with less.

Pamela Maynard (OBE)
Recognised for services to technology and business. Another sign that practical, applied innovation is being rewarded.

Retail and the real economy

Simon Roberts (CBE)
Sainsbury’s CEO, recognised for services to retail. Retail still anchors huge parts of the economy, including thousands of SME suppliers and service firms.

The founder story

Richard Harpin (Knight Bachelor)
HomeServe founder, knighted. This is the kind of scale-up story that we should all pay attention to because it's built on execution and persistence, not just a lucky break.

Why this matters

Whatever you think of the honours system, there's a clear thread running through the list this year. The 2026 list rewards people who make business easier to do. That includes access to funding, better financial systems, stronger digital skills and support for entrepreneurs.

If you run a small business, it's really good to see that kind of work recognised.