Wales’s biggest business group has unveiled a package of new measures to help unlock the full potential of Wales’s creative small businesses.
The Creative Industries is a growth industry with huge potential for Wales, says the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). In 2022 the sector generated a £3.8 billion turnover, making 5.3% of total Welsh GDP. The UK Government’s Green Paper, ‘Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy’, has identified the creative industries as one of the eight key growth-driving sectors.
The Power of Creativity report is set to be launched at Digidol 24 – Wales’ Digital Conference, taking place at M-SParc. The report sets out recommendations for how policymakers at a Welsh Government, UK Government and local authority level can align the levers at their disposal to catalyse growth for the sector.
Amongst these recommendations are five key areas:
- Parity of Esteem: Policymakers must ensure that interventions reflect the creative industries’ status as a key growth sector to boost investment and develop a skills pipeline.
- Access to funding: Bolstering investor confidence with government guarantees and/or incentives for loans and investment whilst delivering financial support via targeted R&D tax reliefs and ensuring that regional funding reforms provide opportunities to access long-term support.
- Connecting businesses: The development of key networks can be supported by bolstering Creative Wales and the development of microclusters.
- Common Frameworks: Procurement, tendering and contract opportunities must be accessible to creative SMEs.
- The Wales Brand: Wales’s creative industries should be utilised to strengthen the development of a distinctive Welsh brand.
Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said:
“The creative industries make a significant and growing contribution to Wales’s economy, boosting GDP, generating employment, and driving innovation.
“The sector is also vital to the development of a distinctive Welsh brand, which can be utilised to attract investment and boost Welsh tourism.
“The recommendations in the Federation of Small Businesses’ report set out how policymakers at all levels can work together to support SMEs in the creative industries, and in doing so spread prosperity and boost wider health and wellbeing benefits, helping our communities to thrive.
“As governments now look to the mission of growing our economy, we need an approach which capitalises on the talent and entrepreneurial drive of business owners within the creative sector.”
William and Elizabeth Morris-Julien, Directors of Goldborough Studio Ltd, who are currently developing a PC/Console game from their in creative studio in west Wales, said:
“The creative industries in Wales are thriving, and we’re proud to be a part of such a vibrant community.
“We are immensely fortunate to be able to live and work on this exciting project in a beautiful area of Wales. However, we have encountered challenges due to investors not always understanding the long-term nature of the funding needed for creative projects and in finding the specialised skills we need locally.
“Creative Wales has been extremely supportive in helping us navigate some of these barriers and in promoting our project globally.
“We can’t wait to bring our vision to life and for people to be able to play our game.”
