Introducing the FinTech Wales Foundry

Announced today at UK FinTech Week 2021, the Foundry is a new initiative from FinTech Wales designed to pair global startups with leading Welsh institutions in a bid to drive jobs, deals, and investment in the sector. 

Capitalising on an already booming local ecosystem, the FinTech Wales Foundry is now accepting applications for its first accelerator programme due to start on July 5th.

Successful applicants will be invited to develop proof of concepts for Foundry partners whilst receiving tools, mentorship, and access to over £100,000 worth of perks from a growing number of supporting organisations. 

The accelerator programme is open to FinTech solutions from anywhere in the world and operates on a no-equity basis, meaning startups selected to join don’t relinquish any stake in their business at any stage.

The programme is being delivered virtually this year, although founders who are able to physically be in Wales this summer can attend workshops and access free working space at Tramshed Tech. 

Applications are open now until June 7th on www.fintechwalesfoundry.org. 

To help you decide if the Foundry is right for your startup, we’ve put together a list of everything you need to know about our groundbreaking new initiative. 

How does it work?

The FinTech Wales Foundry is a 12-week business accelerator programme – running from early July to late September – that matches FinTech companies from around the world to societal and business challenges for our partners here in Wales.

Successful applications will be invited to join the programme with the ultimate objective of signing a proof of concept with Foundry partners. Along the way, the Foundry will provide them with access to mentors, investors, perks, workshops, deskspace and everything   needed to help them succeed and scale in Wales. 

Who should apply?

You could be solving a problem we don’t know we have, and as such, the accelerator programme is open to all FinTech companies from around the world, no matter the vertical, location, or size – although ideally you already have a working product. Bonus points for seed funding. Gold star for Series A.

Although the Foundry is open to any and all ingenious FinTech solutions, there are certain issues we are giving a special focus to this year. Those are:

• Future of Mobility – Societal sustainability, alternative transport, electric & autonomous vehicles. Do you have ideas that can help Wales get from A to B better?
• Live to 101 – Longer lives have larger implications and you’ve aged just reading this. How can you support the health and wealth of the nation as we age?
• Future of Work – From SME’s to gig economies, covid has changed the 9-5 forever. Can you efficiently automate or upskill the future workforce of Wales?
• Money Management For All – Do you embrace open banking in ingenious ways that look after the pennies and pounds of Welsh pockets at all stages of life?

Who is involved with the programme?

Our founding partners include Principality Building Society, Admiral Pioneer and Cardiff Capital Region. 

Organisations lending time, expertise or resources to the Foundry (so far) include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Stripe, IBM, Deloitte, Capital Law, Tramshed Tech, EY, Salesforce, SeedLegals, Hubspot, Cardiff University, GlobalWelsh, Twilio, Consilium, BGF, Angels Invest Wales, Cardiff Council, Innovate UK and the Welsh Government.

What support can you expect?

In addition to a series of bespoke workshops designed to assist founders in signing a proof of concept with partners, successful applicants can expect tangible platform perks and user credits from the likes of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Stripe, Salesforce, Twilio, Hubspot and SeedLegals.

Although the Foundry doesn’t invest any capital itself, successful applicants can expect personal introductions to curated networks of angel investors and venture capitalists to help them raise. 

What does it cost to participate?

 Nothing. Zilch. Nada. No equity. No cost. All we ask is your time for 12-weeks and 100% commitment. 

Why am I still reading this and not applying already?

No idea. Head over to www.fintechwalesfoundry.org now. 

Is there more to come from the Foundry?

A lot more. Follow FinTech Wales across any of our platforms to keep updated on a series of announcements over the coming weeks and months.