Lord Gerry Grimstone, UK minister for investment, gave a keynote on the development of a fertile environment for the growth of decarbonisation technologies.
Lord Gerry Grimstone, minister for investment at the UK government’s department for international trade and department for business, energy and industrial strategy, spoke about investment opportunities across the country and strategies to boost the development of the local venture capital ecosystem.
“VC investment in the UK has remained strong despite the pandemic, activity has been intense, and we expect the ecosystem to further accelerate its growth in the coming years. We are all now emerging from the shadows of the pandemic and this gives us the chance to reshape our economy and build a sustainable, cleaner future.
“The UK offers some of the most diverse and promising investment opportunities, and we plan to further boost innovation and attract capital to fuel this growth by developing a suitable trade market and an adequate fiscal environment for institutional investors and especially pension funds. This will free more resources to be invested in private equity and venture capital, accelerating the development and expansion of the entire ecosystem.”
Regarding the effort that the government and the private investment community should deploy to accelerate the transition to a decarbonised economy, Grimstone said: “We all have a joint responsibility, both the government and the private sector, to contribute to the development of a fertile environment for the growth of the technologies able to decarbonise our economy and help us reach net-zero goals.”
He concluded his speech with an invitation to the audience of global CVCs: “I would like you to be open-minded about the promising opportunities available in the UK, come forward if you find obstacles that can be overcome through regulatory improvements, and most of all, be as excited as I am about this technological revolution and the possibility to build a sustainable future.”
