Cyber Wales representatives attended the British Business Bank’s Stakeholder's Advisory Board meeting to discuss the progress of the Investment Fund for Wales.
The Investment Fund for Wales will deliver a £130 million commitment of new funding to the country. The fund aims to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across Wales. Cyber Wales support the new fund by collaborating with appointed fund managers Foresight Group promote the fund and to share news about the Cyber Wales member companies that the fund is helping. For example:
The British Business Bank recently announced a £1m investment into gamified cyber security learning plaform SudoCyber.
The investment is the first from the fund to be allocated in mid Wales and comes just over a year since the Investment Fund for Wales was launched in November 2023, by the UK government-backed British Business Bank, to boost the supply of early-stage finance to small and medium-sized businesses across Wales.
SudoCyber founders Jason Davies and Marc Del-Valle have served in the Armed Forces and this recent investment bolsters growth plans for their gamified training business, which is used by the military, police, academia and industry. Established three years ago, Brecon based SudoCyber is a growing online training brand. The company began by training military personnel and has expanded to train Cyber Crime Police Officers. Last year the company won a three-year contract to train Cyber Crime Police Officers across all UK forces and the UK’s ten Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCU.) The firm also services most Wales-based universities, including Wrexham University, University of South Wales and Cardiff University. This is SudoCyber’s first investment round and will enable the 11-strong team to expand and recruit to further develop services, build the sales and marketing team, as well as expand internationally. As part of Foresight’s investment, the SudoCyber team will be supported by Geraint McGrath, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight, who has been appointed to the board.
The Investment Fund for Wales offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25,000 to £100,000, debt finance from £100,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. The fund covers the whole of Wales, including rural, coastal and urban areas. It is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses across Wales, providing funds to businesses that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance. The new fund has embedded ESG awareness into its design and will help support the UK economy’s transition to net zero.