Twelve Welsh tech start-ups to deliver £100 million by 2020

Twelve of Wales’s most innovative, high-growth technology start-ups are set to deliver a combined turnover of more than £100 million by 2020.

From tracking humanitarian aid to driving global beauty sales, these high-tech companies are attracting attention from organisations and professionals from across the globe.

These firms are part of this year’s Digital Dozen Accelerator programme, which was set up in the summer by Innovation Point to accelerate the growth of Welsh technology.

Innovation Point specialises in providing the expertise and market understanding of innovation funding needed to turn Welsh technological capability into ground-breaking solutions for clients worldwide.

Collectively, these companies are planning to employ over 300 staff by 2020, and they’re creating technologies designed to transform organisations and the lives of consumers worldwide.

The start-ups are already working globally, winning contracts and partnerships in China, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Europe and the USA. Eight of the Digital Dozen businesses will take part in a showcase at the London Stock Exchange on November 2nd.

They’ll show off the potential of their ideas and their vision of how the products will become global game-changers. The companies will be pitching to a room of potential investors.

The companies are:

• Disberse, a fund management platform built for the global development sector, Disberse can track the distribution of humanitarian aid ensuring it is used for the intended purpose and reducing fraud and corruption. Already operating on an international scale with a network of leading charities, the implications of this much needed technology on the aid sector are huge. 
• Simply Do Ideas, a white-label, enterprise SaaS platform making innovation and entrepreneurship accessible to everyone. The technology provides the quickest and easiest way to capture, evaluate and share early-stage ideas driving economic, social and environmental impact. It is set to capture over 10 million ideas globally by December 2021.  
• University Cribs, a student property search engine simplifying the process for students to find accommodation. University Cribs is the first property portal solely focussed on student accommodation and the first to show properties in virtual reality. 
• Dashhound, a dashboard that connects users social accounts and enables them to track and purchase products used by their favourite beauty influencers. The global beauty business is set to reach $675billion by 2020 and Dashhound aims to be the single main driving force behind on and offline beauty sales. 

David Warrender, CEO of Innovation Point, said: “Wales is on the cusp of a digital revolution, and we believe that the Digital Dozen are a key element in the work that Innovation Point is doing to drive growth and ability right now. 

“The businesses taking part in this year’s Digital Dozen accelerator programme are already demonstrating their ability to disrupt on the international stage, giving us a great story to take to potential investors and collaborators.”

He added: “We already know of a number of investors turned on to this emerging hub of technical ability, and we are beginning to see some fantastic results from last year’s Digital Dozen cohort. 

“I can only encourage those investors not yet tuned into to the prospect to join us at the London Stock Exchange on the 2^nd November and be a part of something quite exciting.”