Wales Cymru

Our approach to business, isn't cheesy high-fives or cold facts and figures.

It's very Welsh, (funnily enough). We have a lot to offer, but there are certain things that make us unique. That make us stand out. These things are our brand values, "Human Place"; "Real People"; "Inventive Culture". All these things contribute to the real opportunity that we can offer. So, we've rather aptly named our core brand promise 'Real Opportunity.'

If you want to find out more click on the tabs or on our pie-chart type thing over there.

We know that we’re not the biggest country in the world. But being small has its good points. It means that every business is important to us.  It means that our business, government and universities are used to working together. And it also means we have lower housing costs, less congestion and less bureaucracy.

We have a human approach to business here in Wales. We believe business should be about more than making money. Take Howies for example. Whilst making T-shirts, they’re also having a crack at making people think differently about the world. Their business isn’t just about doing business.

We realise that business people are human beings too. Working people into the ground isn’t good for anyone. After all, some of the best ideas happen away from the office.

So try and get across the real Wales by showing businesses that are strongly rooted in Wales.

We believe that it's the people that make a business successful. Without them there would be no business. So here's what you can expect from our people. We're straight talking. We don't say things we don’t mean, or make promises we can't keep. We don't like to dazzle people with spin or hype. We reckon that working together makes for better ideas. We like finding new ways of doing things. But we tend to use a lot of common sense to make sure new ideas actually happen.

There isn't a special language for talking about business. So just make sure you talk how we always do, in a straight, honest, Welsh way. None of this blue sky thinking and running things up flagpoles. Just say it how it is. It’s much simpler that way.

It’s also good to use examples of real people and real success stories when talking about business in Wales.

Why is it like that? Can it be done differently? Can it be done better? We like to ask these kind of questions. It’s easy to just accept the way things are, but we’d prefer to challenge conventions. Especially when it comes to business. We’re always trying to develop new technologies, new ways of working, new ideas. Staying the same is a bit dull, and it doesn’t get you very far. 

Our love of new ideas has made us home to lots of firsts. The first passenger railway. The first canned beer. And now the West Wales UAV Centre is the first UK air facility to be approved for regular and routine UAV flying by the Civil Aviation Authority. Sounds complicated. But it just means that they get to fly and test all these new crazy shaped vehicles in our air space. Then these freshly tested vehicles can be used to do all sorts of things like help with sea rescues and monitor crops and weather. It’s exciting to be the first. And it takes courage to imagine the world differently.

For the shoulder pad wearing and briefcase holding business heads out there, Wales has a lot to offer. Things like high quality products and services, a skilled workforce, generous grants, lower property and business costs, being near to key markets and having close links with research and educational institutions. All good stuff.

But there’s one thing that we think is more important than all of that. We like to call it the ‘Real Opportunity’. It’s not about what we have to offer. It’s not even about what we do. It’s about the way we do it. We do business in a very Welsh way. We’re inventive, challenging and original. But we’re also pragmatic and realistic. After all, there’s no point in having lots of good ideas if they never actually get off the ground.

We want to help businesses grow. We know that not all businesses are the same (that would be boring). Each one’s different. So we treat each one differently. It works better that way.