The inaugural FinTech Wales Foundry accelerator, created in partnership with Admiral Pioneer, Principality Building Society and Cardiff Capital Region, has now completed its 2021 programme.

Featuring a cohort of eight companies - Wagonex, Zing Cover, Sero, Yimba, Voltric, ShipShape, Laytrip and Viaduct - the 12 week, non-funded programme took founders and their teams on a ‘whistlestop tour’ of the Welsh FinTech ecosystem.

Through this, the cohort were connected with 42 supporting companies and organisations and more than 100 seasoned mentors from business, venture capital, academia and the public sector.

Over the course of the programme, the companies in the inaugural cohort, which were selected from more than 150 applicants across 27 countries, have participated in a meet and greet with Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP, a private pitching event with regional investors, and attended more than 30 bespoke workshops from the likes of EY, Microsoft, IBM, Confused.com, Stripe, Capital Law and the Welsh Government, designed to support the ventures in their business development, marketing and fundraising.

Half the cohort companies have announced expansion plans with new jobs opening over the next few months as they continue to explore multiple commercial opportunities with various Foundry partners.

Sarah Williams-Gardener, CEO of FinTech Wales, said: “With Cardiff having recently been highlighted as an emerging cluster in the UK Strategic Fintech Review led by Ron Kalifa.

"Fintech Wales through our first Accelerator programme are delighted to to showcase these amazing Fintech’s all of which are embracing Open Banking, driving innovation and demonstrating the strength of the cluster here in Wales. We will build on this inaugural programme as we drive to establish Wales as a globally recognised Fintech Hub of excellence.”

Daniel Sawko, CEO of ShipShape said: "Being part of the Fintech Wales Foundry has enabled us to forge a new path for our business. Our trajectory has been elevated, we've secured investment, we're approaching £1m in commercial pipeline from basically zero pounds at the start of the Foundry, we've been unlocked from numerous inhibiting factors."