At the beginning of June the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) announced a £1.6 million, five-year investment into FinTech Wales, the independent not for profit membership association and champion of the FinTech and Financial Services industry in Wales.
The investment, which will be spread over a five-year partnership between CCR and FinTech Wales, will see the two organisations work closely together to deliver on CCR’s ambition to help establish Wales as a leading FinTech sector in the UK.
FinTech is one of CCR’s 5 key ‘competitive clusters’, the others being: Compound Semiconductors, Creative Industries, MedTech and Cyber. CCR’s long term ambition is to build on the firm foundations already in place and create a UK-leading Fintech cluster.
Rhys Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of the CCR City Deal said that “FinTech Wales is absolutely the right partner to help deliver on this ambition and this latest investment will enable the organisation to respond to the opportunities in this fast-evolving market, as well as help the overall FinTech cluster in Wales to further develop its own strategic direction. We also hope this will go some way to creating a bespoke talent pool and enhance skills pathways in order to ensure FinTech businesses can recruit the skills and talent they require for growth, as well as attracting inward investment into the region.”
Founded in July 2019, FinTech Wales has already nurtured and supported businesses in Wales as well as setting up a roadmap to establish Wales as a force in the FinTech community worldwide.
In its first year, the association established an Advisory Board of 20 people including representation from Welsh companies including Confused.com, Admiral, The Principality, Capital Law and Acquis Insurance.
Sarah Williams-Gardener, CEO, FinTech Wales, said of the investment: “This enables us to build on the foundations we’ve laid over the past 12 months cementing Wales as THE place to start up, scale up and accelerate innovative Fintech businesses, and add value for the Welsh economy.”
More information about FinTech Wales can be found at www.fintechwales.org.
A new Cyber Innovation Hub (CIH) to help Wales become a global leader in Cyber Security will be operational later this year having attracted co-investment commitments from Welsh Government, The CCR City Deal and industry partners.
The Welsh Government and the CCR are each making a £3m investment in the new Hub over a 2-year period, with a further £3.5m of in-kind match funding from consortium partners boosting the initial investment to £9.5m. It is expected that the CIH will attract £19.9m in total support over 5 years.
The Funding is being made available to a consortium led by Cardiff to develop the partnership with collaborators including Airbus, Alacrity Cyber, CGI, Thales NDEC, Tramshed Tech, and the University of South Wales.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
“The Welsh Government is proud to co-fund Cyber Innovation Hub’s mission to transform Cardiff Capital Region into one of the UK’s leading cyber clusters by 2030. The pandemic has highlighted just how important cyber innovation is in supporting and protecting information-sharing whilst offering data and insight to help keep the region moving and growing.”
UK Government Minister David TC Davies added that “…This will bring jobs and growth to the area as well as putting Wales at the heart of the cybersecurity industry.”
Developed under the directorship of Pete Burnap, Professor of Data Science & Cybersecurity, School of Computer Science and Informatics, CIH aims to boost the number of cyber security businesses anchored in South East Wales, and enhance cybersecurity skills to widen and diversify the cybersecurity talent pool. The investment will leverage a coordinated approach to skills, innovation and new enterprise creation, that is unique in the UK.
By 2030, the Hub aims to have:
To find out more about the Hub and its work, contact CIH Director Professor Pete Burnap (burnapp@cardiff.ac.uk)
The CCR have launched a new website for the fund which aims to stimulate innovation in the Public Sector
https://www.challengefund.wales/
Aimed primarily at organisations within public sector, the £10m challenge fund is seeking to provide solutions to problems where there are no known answers and will be instrumental in helping solve some of the biggest obstacles facing local authorities, health boards and 3rd sector organisations across the region.
Hear more on this development from Liz Rees, Challenge Fund Project Officer
South East Wales Regional Engagement Team
Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend, CF31 4WB
T: 01656 815327 | E: SEWalesRET@bridgend.gov.uk | @SEWalesRET 
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