The Building Blocks Are in Place for Newport’s Tech Future

When I set up Tramshed Tech, it was out of personal experience. I was trying to scale a tech business in Wales and assumed it would be relatively straightforward. After all, there was good talent, strong universities and a lot of promising activity. But even with those assets, it was hard going. The support landscape wasn’t as connected as it needed to be, and it was clear there was work to do to create the conditions in which businesses could scale and thrive.

Tramshed Tech was born from that experience, and today it’s a growing network of entrepreneurs, startups and scaling businesses. Our Newport hub is an increasingly important part of that story. It offers flexible office space in a prime location, a stone’s throw from Newport train station, and we’re proud to be working with Welsh Government and Newport City Council to run the Soft Landing Programme, supporting international tech companies to set up in Wales. But while physical infrastructure matters, what’s more important is the strength of the ecosystem.

When I travel and visit startup hubs across the UK and around the world, I’m often struck by how similar the building blocks are. Whether it’s Manchester or Eindhoven, Paris or Hyderabad, the fundamentals are broadly the same – access to space, funding, skills, universities, and connections to larger companies. What makes the difference is how those building blocks are arranged. The most effective ecosystems are the ones that have been deliberately and collaboratively stacked to remove barriers and enable growth.

Newport has all the right building blocks. There’s a strong mix of corporate, academic and community engagement. The semiconductor sector is a major asset and puts Newport in a strong position to lead on deep tech and the application of AI. The universities are proactive, and organisations like the Alacrity Foundation are working hard to equip the next generation of entrepreneurs. We’re fortunate to work alongside them, sharing ideas and looking at how we can deliver support that meets businesses where they are.

Tramshed Tech’s role is to make it easier for startups and scaleups to access what they need. That might be a desk or a meeting space, but it could just as easily be an introduction to an investor, a conversation with a mentor, or support to navigate the skills system. Our Ventures division runs a range of incubator and accelerator programmes, and we’re constantly developing new initiatives to support growth, including for founders from outside the UK through the Soft Landing Programme.

Our ambition for Newport is simple: to build on what’s already working and help ensure the ecosystem is set up to support businesses of all sizes. That includes often-overlooked micro businesses which, with the right support, can create jobs and deliver impact quickly. It means supporting founders who want to build their teams in Wales rather than feeling they need to move elsewhere to grow. And it means being practical and joined-up about skills, so that businesses can find – or develop – the talent they need to succeed.

There’s momentum in Newport right now. The ambition is there, the people are working together, and the foundations are in place. Our job is to keep stacking the building blocks, one on top of the other, and to make sure we build something that lasts.