Wales Was the Perfect Home for our Fintech Start-up

We live in a digital-first world. We shop, communicate, and manage our lives digitally, and financial services need to catch up and keep up. 

As we progress with technology – like the evolution from early iPhones to today’s Androids – our expectations of services change. Fintech is industry’s response to consumers’ need for seamless, digital solutions in a financial services environment. 

At Menna, we’ve built our approach around helping small businesses, particularly the micro-businesses that form the backbone of the Welsh economy. I’m talking about the 1-10 person operations – high street shops, hairdressers, plumbers, electricians, and freelance marketers.  

These owner-directors wear many hats. They’re not only running the business, they’re also the accountant, the marketer, and the customer service rep all rolled into one. Yet, despite their crucial role in our local economy, these businesses often struggle with access to support. 

We saw a huge gap when high street banks started pulling back from the traditional, local spaces where small business owners used to find advisors. As they consolidated into city centres and later closed many of those branches, a lot of small businesses were left in the dark.  

It’s not surprising that 60% of small businesses fail within the first five years. At Menna, we saw this as an opportunity to solve a problem. We developed an AI-driven assistant and a credit platform to help these businesses better understand their financial health and give them access to the support they need, digitally and efficiently. 

Now, let’s talk about fintech in Wales and the broader region. I’ve been in Cardiff since the late 1990s, and the fintech landscape has changed dramatically. When I first finished university in the early 2000s, I was lucky to land a job with a start-up – Confused.com – which was a fantastic success. But back then, there wasn’t much of a buzz around fintech. The ecosystem just wasn’t there. 

Fast forward to today, and the story is completely different. Cardiff, along with cities like Bristol, is home to some large, established fintech firms. But more importantly, we’re seeing a blossoming array of smaller start-ups. There are also significant support networks, such as FinTech Wales, that didn’t exist 20 years ago. Co-working spaces, university initiatives, and accelerators are helping create a more cohesive and collaborative environment for new businesses. 

Of course, we can always do more to strengthen the sector. We should continue building connections between large companies and smaller players to ensure a healthy flow of ideas and opportunities. But when I compare the current fintech landscape to what it was 15 or 20 years ago, it’s like night and day. Access to funding, mentorship, and networking is leagues ahead of where it used to be. 

In the past two decades, Wales has evolved into a thriving hub for fintech. We have the talent, the infrastructure, and the will to keep moving forward. The fintech scene in South Wales is in good shape, and I’m excited to see where we can take it next.