Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 13 July 2016.
This is a point of ongoing consideration by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, but the Member is right, we should use every lever at our disposal to attract investors to Wales. Last year, we recorded the second highest level of inward investment here. That’s something that, again, we want to make sure that we maintain. In terms of financial support to businesses, we have the Wales microbusiness loan fund, which amounts to £6 million. We have got the Wales technology venture investment fund and we also have £21 million of new finance to help small and medium-term enterprises grow in Wales, which can be accessed through two Finance Wales funds. We also, of course, have the £5 million repayable fund for SMEs. We’re keen to attract not just inward investment, but to ensure that our existing companies grow and prosper in Wales, and to ensure that we have entrepreneurs who have access to the resources, the advice and the opportunities to set up business here in Wales in the communities in which they’ve grown up so that they don’t need to leave Wales.