The fund will be managed by Finance Wales, the investment bank subsidiary of the Welsh Government.
The Welsh government has announced its new Wales Technology Seed Fund, worth a total £7.5m ($12.6m), which will allow individual investments between £50,000 ($85,000) and £150,000 ($250,000). It will be managed by Finance Wales, the government’s investment bank subsidiary.
The fund will be operational from June 2014, and provide equity seed fund backing to technology start-ups and intellectual property rich university spin-out firms in the country, to help them commercialise their products and technologies. The fund is large enough to support up to 50 start-ups and spin-outs over the next five years.
It is hoped that the fund will directly create over 100 jobs during this five year period and positively impact the Welsh economy. The government is aiming to attract future leading technology businesses to Wales, which will trade globally, thus strengthening the economy and creating yet more high-calibre jobs.
Start-ups can apply for a range of other Welsh Government support to encourage innovation and business growth alongside the investment from the fund. As they grow and become more successful, they can then benefit from further investment from Finance Wales under its £150m ($250m) Jeremie Fund.
In financial year ending April 2014, Finance Wales invested over £8m ($13.5m) in six new technology businesses and a number of its portfolio companies. Since 2009, it has invested almost £28m ($47m) in 30 technology venture companies.
Edwina Hart, Wales’ business minister, said: “This new fund will address the current dearth of early stage capital identified by the Innovation Wales strategy. It will provide structured investment to technology start-ups and university spin-outs that are currently failing to secure support to commercialise their respective intellectual property.
