Wales’ business ecosystems of industry, academia and Government work together to create strong strategic partnerships, fostering innovation in cyber security, fintech, life sciences, high value manufacturing, renewables, compound semiconductors, food and drink, tourism and creative sectors.
Life Sciences Wales
Thriving life science economy – in Wales it’s easy to meet the right people and make decisions, fast. The Welsh Life Sciences sector has experienced continued growth over the last decade. It now contributes over £2bn to the Welsh economy and employs almost 12,000 people. Jobs within the industry have increased by 1,600 over the last ten years. Our aim is to improve health and well-being in Wales, for individuals, families and communities, helping us to achieve our ambition of prosperity for all. This success is thanks to the collaborative approach of the Life Sciences Hub Wales, which exists to catalyse innovation and collaboration between industry, health, social care, and academia - making a positive difference to people, families, and businesses across the nation by accelerating the development and adoption of innovative solutions for better health and wellbeing.
Cari-Anne Quinn, CEO at Life Sciences Hub WalesOur work at the Life Sciences Hub is centred around inspiring and facilitating these very collaborations. By doing so, we can help drive forward innovations that will improve the health, wealth and wellbeing of people in Wales and beyond.”
Collaborations between a range of highly respected academic institutions and pioneering private research organisations play a fundamental role in the success of the central Life Sciences Hub. The country is home to some of the world’s largest and most progressive life sciences companies including multinationals like Siemens Healthineers, GE Healthcare, Convatec, Ipsen and Thermo Fisher. The eight Welsh universities involved - Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea University, University of South Wales, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Wrexham Glyndŵr University - also conduct pioneering research of their own and work closely with businesses to develop a pipeline of future talent and have included collaboration with global companies (Phillips, Renishaw, Pfizer Limited and GE Healthcare), innovative SMEs, VCs, key NHS professionals, universities, international networks and business support organisations.
Clwstwr and Creative Wales
The creative sector in Wales is worth over £1.7 billion and employs more than 34,000 people, with £14.2 million in Wales’ thriving film industry. Creative Wales exists to harness the power of the creative sectors, drive growth in the economy and help build a prosperous future for Wales. The Government led expert team also connects people and businesses to foster new opportunities.
The Clwstwr collaboration is led by Cardiff University in partnership with University of South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University. It brings together all major Welsh broadcasters with independent film and television production companies, Wales’s national companies and creative organisations, creative co-working spaces, tech startups, strategic agencies, local authorities and the Welsh Government.
Clwstwr’s focus is to deepen the culture of collaboration and innovation so that media production can be sustained and grow not just in the Cardiff city area, but across Wales.
Exporting Wales to the world
The Export Cluster Programme brings together Welsh companies in six key sectors to help each other export more of their products across the globe. Companies are invited to take part in the programme include a mix of those new to exporting, ad-hoc exporters, and established, successful exporters.
The Clusters provide a combination of one-to-many and one-to-one support to develop members’ export capabilities. As well as receiving guidance, members are actively encouraged to collaborate with one another to create networks, partnerships and niche groups, as well as provide peer-to peer mentoring support.
Global Welsh connections
GlobalWelsh is a non-profit Welsh diaspora networking organisation, which recently launched a new global hub in the United States of America.
The new ‘virtual’ hub, led by automotive veteran Jan Griffiths, together with a team of successful Welsh diaspora. It will be focused on growing and connecting the business diaspora network in the USA and facilitating opportunities for mutual growth between members both home and away.
It’s estimated more than 2 million people in the USA have Welsh ancestry, and building new links with business leaders and passionate members of the diaspora and access to a connected community has the potential to be a real economic asset for Wales.
Similarly, the Ambassador Wales Conference Programme is a growing network of influential private individuals from fields such as academia, medicine and business who, whilst leading in their own professional field, dedicate personal time, energy and enthusiasm to champion Wales as a meeting and events destination.
These include Prof Cristian Kaunert of USW, bringing the Euro Sim Conference to ICC Wales and USW in 2023 and Arwyn Watkins OBE who worked to secure a bid to bring the WorldChefs Congress and Expo to Wales at the ICC Wales in 2026.
A collaborative team Wales approach to Business Events is also evident in Wales when planning and hosting major events. The NATO 2014 Wales Summit held in the Celtic Manor Resort with informal events held in Cardiff saw a range of private and public sector organisations across regions supporting the planning and delivery of a successful event for world leaders. So whatever your business event requirements are you can be assured of a professional and friendly welcome to Wales.
