June saw the announcement of the shortlist for the 2024 Fintech Awards Wales, which celebrates the individuals, companies and academic institutions driving the country’s fast-growing financial technology sector.
The shortlist for the ‘startup of the year’ gong includes Peppercorn AI, an insurtech platform that raised £3.25m in April. Other nominees for the gong include Proveit, Credit Canary, Menna, TLC Harmony and Voltric.
One of the other top awards is the ‘fintech company of the year’ category, with Capital on Tap, Sonovate and Comparision Creator all competing for the title. Capital on Tap has also received a nod for the ‘scaleup of the year’ award, alongside Final Rentals, Checks Direct and Propel Finance.
These awards also recognise individuals at the top of their game in the Welsh fintech sector. For example, there is a ‘fintech leader of the year’ award, in which Ammar Akhtar (Final Rentals), Kath Denton (Coincover), Timothy Barnett (Credas), Louise Harris (Tramshed Tech), Mark Sweeny (de Novo Solutions), Rhodri Evans (PWC) and (Sameer Rahman) Datamonet are celebrated for their leadership in the Welsh fintech sector.
Future Welsh fintech pioneers are also recognised for their achievements, with Daniel Nash (We Get Design), Matthew Worsley (Ever Nimble), Liam Kelly (Ysgol Maesydderwen) and Ben Rolfe (Morriston Comprehensive School) competing for the apprentice of the year title. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony set to take place at Tramshed in Cardiff on September 6th.
Matthew Hyde, founder of Fintech Awards Wales, described the 2024 nominees as “vibrant and dynamic”. He added: “Their groundbreaking innovations, visionary leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence are reshaping the future of finance in our region. We eagerly anticipate showcasing their remarkable achievements at the upcoming award ceremony.”
Tendertec scoops funding
In other news, Cardiff-based health technology company Tendertec closed a £440,000 funding round backed by the Development Bank of Wales. The company was founded by Afroditi Konidari and Rui Zhang — both of whom have worked in the digital health space — and has developed an artificial intelligence-based solution that aims to improve the health, independence and safety of elderly people.
The company, which has previously raised investment from Metavallon VC and received a £1.4m grant from Innovate UK, will use the funds to expand into the wider social care market and tap into new domiciliary care opportunities across Europe.
Its machine learning-powered digital health platform, Hestia, provides 24-hour monitoring of metrics like body temperature, vitals and daily activities. It can also identify falls and unusual behaviour, and reconstruct incidents.
Rui Zhang, co-founder and chief technology officer of Tendertec, said: “Since Tendertec’s inception, we’ve detected over 5,000 fall-related incidents and early symptoms of frailty, enabling those with complex care needs to receive early intervention and maintain their independence.”
Another notable development in Welsh tech is Dr Drew Nelson’s exit from the board of IQE, a Cardiff-based semiconductor company that he co-founded in 1988. Nelson led the company as its chief executive between 1999 and 2021 before becoming president and non-executive director.
While Nelson is no longer an IQE board member, he’ll continue to support the firm as a consultant over the next 12 months. Outside of IQE, Nelson plans to support the growth of the Welsh and UK semiconductor industries. He currently chairs the advisory board of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on semiconductors.
Phil Smith, chairman of IQE, said: “Drew’s contributions to IQE as a founder, CEO and president cannot be understated. He has been instrumental to the business’s growth from startup to a global innovator and leader in the sector.
“Drew will continue to be a key figure in the semiconductor industry in his work with the South Wales Compound Semiconductor cluster, and other related activities, and we look forward to working with him in this capacity.”
Flotek, an IT and managed services provider with offices in Cardiff and Swansea, is planning to hire 15 new engineers after becoming an authorised seller and partner of fibre and data cabling firm CommScope.
In June, the company also became the second Welsh company to be named a ‘gold’ partner of cybersecurity specialists SonicWall and hired Daniel Sowsbery as its new head of customer experience.
The Welsh government celebrated International Women in Engineering Day on June 23rd with the story of Grace Lewis, who was inspired to pursue an engineering career after going on a school trip to a NASA site. She then undertook a degree apprenticeship at the University of South Wales, took a role at McLaren in 2021 and now works as lead engineer at Aston Martin.
Grace, who is a Welsh Government STEM Ambassador, said: “My mission is to help the STEM industries become a fairer and more accessible place for young people – regardless of gender, birthplace or minority group. I’ve been lucky enough to both welcome students on-site and visit them at schools and colleges.”
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