4. Statement by the Minister for Economy: Development Bank of Wales — Investing with ambition

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:47 pm on 25 October 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:47, 25 October 2022

Thank you for the questions. You're right; growth from small to medium and then from medium to large is one of our big challenges in the economy. Actually, it is exactly part of what DBW can do, because, often, it is the access to finance that holds people back. It's where high-street banks have seen a gap in what they do and DBW has been able to plug that gap. When it comes to the jobs and investment choices, it isn't just the funds that have helped to create about 2,600 jobs—to either safeguard or create those from the investment that's been made from the last financial year—but, actually, that adds to an increase in Welsh GVA of around £85.8 million within that year, and you expect that to carry on growing as we move forward. So, it is one of the things that I am genuinely concerned about.

Yes, there is activity in life sciences, and there's activity in financial services, especially in the growing fintech sector we have. And on your broader point around the broader technology sector and what that looks like, actually these services go into most businesses now, and so there is something about what our broader tech sector is doing. On a recent trip, the trade mission that I led to the United Arab Emirates, we had lots and lots of tech businesses, small and medium-sized businesses, looking for investment and recognising that they had an opportunity, including businesses based in Swansea, you'll be very pleased to hear.

And, yes, on your point around the Swansea bay city deal, we are looking at what DBW can do; how it can help to work with that and other growth deals in Wales to advance the projects they've got. I'm actually very positive about the practical progress that the Swansea bay city deal group is making on not just having a portfolio of projects, but on the investment that is already being made.