A decade ago, if I had suggested that Wales would host one of the UK’s most dynamic tech, digital, and creative hubs, many might have seen it as overly optimistic.
Yet today Tramshed Tech is proof that vision, persistence, and a bit of risk can pay off in a big way.
In 2013, my co-founder Louise Harris and I had a simple but ambitious idea – to create an innovation hub that would give digital talent in Wales a home.
I’d travelled across Europe, visiting cities like Stuttgart, Eindhoven, Nantes and Dublin, all of which had thriving innovation spaces and creative clusters. What struck me was that Wales, and particularly Cardiff, didn’t have anything similar, no central space where creative, tech, and digital sectors could coalesce, collaborate, and grow. And that seemed like a huge gap in the market.
At that time, many thought we were a bit crazy to go ahead and try to build this ourselves. But we believed in our idea and took the plunge. In 2016, we opened the first Tramshed Tech site in Cardiff’s Grangetown area. It started as a co-working space primarily targeting the tech, digital, and creative sectors, which were showing incredible potential for growth. Given my background in the creative sector, it was important for us to blend these three industries, as they are increasingly intertwined and are collectively shaping the future of the economy.
The response to Tramshed Tech was overwhelming. The original space filled up quickly, and before we knew it, we had to expand, eventually tripling the amount of space we occupied in Cardiff. Since 2016, we’ve maintained high occupancy levels, which was a clear sign that the demand for such a hub was strong, not just in Cardiff but across Wales.
We quickly realised that the need for innovation hubs extended beyond the capital. So, we expanded first to Newport, then to the Vale of Glamorgan, and most recently, we’re about to open a new site at the Palace Theatre in Swansea in November, after five years of planning and work.
These spaces are not just about offering desk space; they are about creating ecosystems where digital, tech, and creative businesses can thrive.
Our goal was not only to provide a home for these sectors, but also to offer growth programmes that could help Welsh companies scale. It’s not enough to just provide a physical space; we’ve put in place growth programmes that help businesses navigate the complex journey from startup to scale-up, ensuring they have the support, mentorship, and tools they need to grow and succeed. And the results have been inspiring – great companies, large and small, have been able to accelerate their growth with the help of Tramshed Tech.
Thinking back over the past decade, it’s clear just how much has changed. Technology and digital sectors, which were once seen as niche, are now driving the economy, not just in Wales but globally. When we launched Tramshed Tech, it was apparent that tech wasn’t going to be a standalone industry; it would become horizontal, meaning it would intersect and influence every part of the economy, from finance to healthcare to the creative industries.
This understanding was a key reason why we integrated tech into Tramshed Tech from the outset. Today, it might seem obvious that tech would play such a central role, but in 2013, we were early adopters. This allowed us to stay at the forefront of the learning curve, constantly innovating and adapting to the needs of the industry.
In many of the presentations I now give, particularly in partnership with the Welsh Government, I discuss the transformation Wales is undergoing. We are moving away from our history of heavy industry towards new industries that are focused on technology, digital, and the creative economy. Wales has a real opportunity to carve out a niche for itself as a land of tech, where innovation thrives, and businesses are built for the future.
At Tramshed Tech, we are helping to lead this transformation. Our mission is to develop Wales as a key player in the global digital economy, fostering the growth of sectors that are critical to our future prosperity. Innovation hubs like ours are essential to this vision, offering spaces where talent can flourish and businesses can collaborate and grow.
The journey has been incredibly rewarding, but we’re continuing to expand – as the demand for innovation spaces grows, we’re excited to be part of shaping the future of the Welsh economy, helping businesses adapt to the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.
The gap we identified a decade ago has turned into one of the most significant opportunities for growth in Wales.
Tramshed Tech is proud to be at the heart of that transformation, helping to drive innovation and create a thriving ecosystem for the tech, digital, and creative industries in Wales. The future looks incredibly bright, and we’re just getting started.
