British Business Bank and Development Bank of Wales to Deliver Investor Speed Networking Session at Wales Tech Week 2025
Technology Connected, the creators of Wales Tech Week 2025, are delighted to announce that British Business Bank and the Development Bank of Wales have joined as Fringe Event Partners, bringing an engaging Investor Speed Networking Session to this year’s international tech summit.
The session will take place on Monday 24 November, 2pm to 4pm at the ICC Wales, as part of the wider Wales Tech Week programme, offering a unique platform for innovative startups and scaleups to connect with an active network of investors from across Wales.
With limited capacity and anticipated high demand, places are subject to approval, and early registration is strongly encouraged.
“The Investor Speed Networking session is one of the standout highlights of Wales Tech Week this year,” said Avril Lewis, Managing Director of Technology Connected. “It’s a unique opportunity for founders to showcase their vision, secure investment, and accelerate growth, while investors gain access to a curated pipeline of high-potential startups and scaleups. This session is all about creating meaningful connections that can lead to real funding, partnerships, and measurable business impact.”
As the UK’s economic development bank, the British Business Bank plays a pivotal role in helping smaller businesses access the finance they need to grow. In July 2025, the UK Government allocated over £4.5 billion to the Bank as part of its ‘Backing Your Business’ plan. These measures, and others previously announced, form part of the Government’s 2025 Spending Review, under which the British Business Bank’s total financial capacity will increase to £25.6bn from April 2026, which will enable a two-thirds increase in investments to around £2.5bn each year. This significant funding enables the Bank to continue to support smaller businesses and innovative entrepreneurs across the UK.
As a public finance institution owned by the Welsh Government, the Development Bank of Wales now has £2 billion in funds under management and a portfolio of more than 3,600 small business customers. Since inception in 2017, the Development Bank’s Technology Ventures Investment team has committed more than £85 million to 150 cutting-edge startups from Seed to Series A and has attracted £170 million of private co-investment.
Jessica Phillips-Harris, Senior Manager for Wales, British Business Bank, said:
“Wales Tech Week provides an exceptional platform to bring together the vibrant tech ecosystem here in Wales. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Development Bank of Wales to run this investor speed networking event, connecting innovative founders with active investors. It’s all about fostering meaningful relationships that can help accelerate the growth of Welsh tech and unlock new opportunities across the nation.”
Duncan Gray, Technology Venture Investments Director, Development Bank of Wales, said:
“We’re proud to support Wales Tech Week and connect directly with both the existing and the next generation of tech entrepreneurs,”
“The Investor Speed Networking session is a fantastic opportunity to build relationships, share insights, and help founders access funding from seed stage to scale-up. It’s often these initial conversations and questions which start the ball rolling and lead to great businesses in the future.”
Where international opportunity meets Welsh ingenuity, Wales Tech Week serves as a magnet for global engagement, investment, and talent, connecting people, solutions, and industries to accelerate innovation and drive long-term impact across all sectors.