8th April 2026
by Antony Woods, CTO @ Kikin
I had every intention of opening this article with the classic tropes about Welsh rain. I’d lined up metaphors about the quiet determination of drizzle and it was going to be poetic. Unfortunately, this April bank holiday has been absolutely glorious so the weather angle is a non-starter. So instead I will say that this wonderful country can surprise you, often. It certainly surprised me to learn that the place I hang my hat is actually becoming a world-class Fintech hub.
Kikin is putting down roots in Wales. In fact, we’re already here. Actually, we were here all along! Having spent the last year getting closer to the Welsh ecosystem, I can say with confidence that this isn’t a flag of convenience — it’s a strategic decision that happens to also feel right.
There is a well-worn playbook for cities trying to become “fintech hubs”. Step one: create a membership body. Step two: host some events. Step three: hope. Wales has done something rather more interesting than this.
FinTech Wales is the independent membership association championing the fintech and financial services industry here, and it’s genuinely impressive. It recently hit 200 members and operates across four strategic pillars: skills and talent, funding and investment, ecosystem and community, and promotion. The Foundry, their accelerator programme, has been running since 2021 and is producing real businesses — Savannah Price, a Foundry graduate, was recently shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Business Awards 2026!
Things are actually happening here!
The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) has invested £1.6 million over five years into FinTech Wales as part of its “Competitive Clusters” strategy, which identifies fintech as one of five priority sectors alongside compound semiconductors, creative industries, MedTech and cyber. Wales has been described as having the fastest growing digital economy outside of London.
For Kikin, which exists at the intersection of finance and technology, this matters. We’re joining a community, not just throwing darts at a map.
One of the more disarming things about the Welsh business landscape is the genuine infrastructure of support available. Business Wales is the Welsh Government’s fully-funded business support service, providing free advice on everything from starting up to scaling. This isn’t a leaflet and a phone number — it’s advisers, workshops, mentoring, and access to funding programmes.
Then there’s the Development Bank of Wales, which has been one of the country’s most active seed investors, backing fintech startups with funding through their Technology Venture Investments team. They’ve invested in businesses like Sidekick, which recently raised £7.8m in Series A and is building out its operations in Cardiff. The Development Bank doesn’t just write cheques — they provide follow-on investment, co-invest with other funders, and actively support portfolio companies.
For early-stage fintech companies like Kikin, this is a compelling proposition. The cost base is significantly lower than London, the talent is strong (Cardiff University, the University of South Wales, and Swansea University all feed into the ecosystem), and the institutional support isn’t theoretical — it’s operational.
At Kikin, we predominantly lend to purpose-driven organisations: social enterprises, B Corps, and sustainability-focused SMEs. Our mission isn’t an afterthought; it’s the reason we exist - ask Charlie, he wrote his thesis on it. So the fact that Wales is actively building the infrastructure for a green economy isn’t just nice to know — it’s strategically relevant.
The South East Wales Business Climate Coalition (SEWBCC) is a not-for-profit partnership dedicated to supporting businesses across the Cardiff Capital Region in their journey toward Net Zero. They provide free, practical resources and share best practices from trail-blazing businesses (like Kikin, obviously). Their stated goal is to ensure every business has access to the support they need to thrive in a low-carbon future.
This aligns directly with what we’re building. Kikin’s customers are the kind of organisations that SEWBCC exists to support. Wales has committed, at a policy level, to the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, and the Cardiff Capital Region’s energy vision explicitly targets decarbonisation as a pathway for economic regeneration.
For a lender whose entire customer base is working toward these goals, being embedded in an ecosystem that shares this ambition is deeply important.
There’s always a practical dimension to these decisions that doesn’t make it into the press release. For us, it’s simple: I live in Cardiff. I’ve been here for years. I know the city, the people, the rhythm of the place.
Remote-first companies can operate from anywhere, and we do. But having a physical presence matters — for governance, for community and for the kind of relationships that don’t happen over Teams. We are beginning our search for a space in the area that ticks our boxes.
We're also hiring. We're looking for AI-enabled engineers and product thinkers who care about purpose-driven finance and who are excited about what AI makes possible. Wales-based or Wales-curious, get in touch.
Wales isn’t trying to be London. It’s trying to be something better: a place where purpose-driven businesses can find the support, community, and capital they need to grow.
Dyna pam.
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