The Development Bank of Wales will be attending the Royal Welsh Show again this year. Europe’s largest agricultural show is held in Builth Wells at the Royal Welsh Show Ground from Monday 22 July until Thursday 25 July. Investment executives from the Development Bank will be on hand to answer talk about business ideas and answer questions from Welsh business owners and entrepreneurs at stand E374 in the Green Pavilion.
As well as drop-in sessions throughout the week, the Development Bank is hosting a number of events partnering with the Federation of Small Businesses, Business Wales and the Welsh Government's Tourism team. The Meet the Experts sessions are free to attend and tickets can be booked online. The sessions will be held from 9:30 on Tuesday 23 July, 14:00 on Wednesday and 9:30 on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Development Bank is also co-hosting a leadership panel discussion with Brewin Dolphin. Together with speakers from Brewin Dolphin, the Development Bank of Wales and Capital Law, the panel will be talking about their business journeys, overcoming adversity and how to achieve success and financial wellbeing. Free tickets can be booked by emailing wales.events@brewin.co.uk.
The Development Bank has a range of funds available to help all sectors including; farming, tourism, retail, and food and drink. Businesses can hear more information about finance from the £50 million Wales Tourism Investment Fund. The key objective of the fund is to finance tourism projects which have the opportunity to create positive impact on growing the sector and the Welsh economy.
Smaller micro loans from £1,000 up to £50,000 are available from the new Wales Micro Loan Fund, a £16.2 million fund which can support sole traders and small-to-medium-sized businesses across Wales. Last financial year the Development Bank supported Welsh businesses with 220 micro loans.
Gaynor Morris, Investment Executive for the Development Bank of Wales covering mid Wales said: “We’re delighted to be back in Builth Wells for another Royal Welsh Show. A huge variety of businesses and entrepreneurs attend this event every year show-casing the best of what Wales has to offer. It’s always a pleasure to see the local community working in partnership at this event and to catch-up with customers and colleagues in local councils, banks, Business Wales and Welsh Government. We’ll have investment staff on hand throughout the week to talk about how we can help businesses start-up, strengthen and grow and answer any questions you may have about funding from ourselves. Our Meet the Expert events are a great opportunity to get advice from our panellists and to network with other businesses.”
The Development Bank of Wales was set up by the Welsh Government to support business growth in Wales. Last financial year the Development Bank invested £80 million in Welsh businesses. £37 million was invested in south Wales, £26 million in mid and west Wales, and £17 million in north Wales.
They manage over £1 billion in funds and can offer loans and equity investments to eligible companies from £1,000 to £5 million. To check eligibility or apply for finance visit developmentbank.wales.
