£20m seed fund to grow tech sector across Wales
ANEW £20m fund to help firms in Wales’ expanding technology sector grow and create new highvalue jobs has been announced.
The Wales Technology Fund, from the Development Bank of Wales, will see £250,000 available per round to support the growth of developing technology businesses across Wales.
The new, bigger fund replaces the original, and now fully invested, seed fund (previously managed by Finance Wales, which has evolved into the new Development Bank) that has made 45 investments in 41 startup and early-stage technology businesses since 2014.
The £7.5m fund leveraged £3.6m private investment and created or safeguarded up to 570 jobs. Over half of the businesses to benefit have been based in west Wales or the Valleys.
In total, the Welsh Government has provided an additional £233m of additional funding to the Development Bank in 2017-18, including an extra £30m to be invested through the £100m Wales Flexible Investment and previously announced top-ups to the Wales Business Fund and the Property Fund.
The £20m Wales Technology Seed Fund II is the third new fund to be announced in recent weeks from this allocation, along with the new £8m Angel Co-investment Fund and £40m for the Wales Stalled Sites Fund (see panel).
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: “I am proud to have established the Development Bank of Wales which, in parallel with Business Wales, is providing businesses with the support they need.
“The Development Bank is ensuring that this latest commitment of over £200m of Welsh Government funding is being used to drive investments that will grow our economy both today and into the future.
“The technology sector is increasingly important to our wider economy and I am committed to providing tech businesses in Wales with the backing they need to start up, prosper and grow.
“The new £20m Wales Technology Seed Fund is an important part of that support.
“It will help deliver the ambitions of our Economic Action Plan and will address a real gap in the market by ensuring that viable start-up and early-stage technology companies have access to the capital they need to get their ventures off the ground and on course for a successful future.”
Giles Thorley, chief executive of the Development Bank of Wales, said: “The new £20m Wales Technology Seed Fund is three times the size of the previous fund, with up to £250,000 now available to support the growth of developing technology businesses across Wales. This is exactly what earlystage technology businesses in Wales need.
“With £550m currently in live funds, it’s all about having fuel in the tank to deliver for Wales. The additional funding from Welsh Government gives Welsh business a real advantage as we continue with our work in all regions.
“Our investment teams are working with local businesses to support new and growing businesses to create high-quality jobs.
“We are working hard towards delivering on our current five-year target of £1bn investment into the Welsh economy by 2022.”