FinTech Wales, the independent membership association and champion of the Tech and Financial Services industry in Wales, has recruited Ollie Vincent as its Office and Community Manager. The not-for-profit organisation has also moved to its first office in the centre of Cardiff, featuring a variety of high-quality work and event spaces that are available to members and advocates of the Welsh FinTech ecosystem.   

Ollie Vincent joins from DESG, where he spent over two years as Head of Operations, developing DESG from a building site to an award-winning co-working and event space. In his new role, Ollie will be leading the community engagement by working closely with our members to understand their needs, and welcoming visitors from all over the world who are keen to see what Welsh FinTechs have to offer.

Sarah Williams-Gardener, CEO at FinTech Wales, said on the new appointment: “Ollie joining our team and the opening of our first office further demonstrates our commitment to fostering an ecosystem where FinTech startups and established financial institutions can collaborate. The experience and skills that Ollie brings to his role will be of huge value to our members, and to the FinTech Wales team, as we build more industry opportunities fostering industry innovation and supporting partnerships.”

“Ollie’s event management and customer service expertise and his history of working with a huge range of businesses will allow us to expand massively upon our mission to establish and empower Wales as a globally recognised hub of FinTech excellence. With Ollie’s appointment and our new office we can now host various events in our own space to bring the community together where our members can share industry insights and collaborate with one another. 

“We’ve already hosted a number of successful events in our new home, including roundtable discussions for our members with The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Welsh and UK Government Officials, and the Lord Mayor of the City of London, as well as welcoming investors, embassies and FinTechs from all over the world. We also host a series of monthly events, which are extremely valued by our members, including networking breakfasts, fireside and panel events, and lunch and learn sessions on a variety of relevant topics.

“Moving into our first physical office in the city centre is a huge step forward for us to be able to deliver even more for our members, and invite people from all over the world to see and experience the thriving FinTech ecosystem Wales has to offer.” 

FinTech Wales launched in April 2019 to provide an independent voice for the FinTech industry, both within Wales and beyond, to champion and maximise the potential for all businesses in this sector.

Their mission is to create a fully inclusive and supportive FinTech ecosystem that enables FinTechs to flourish and succeed thanks to the availability of the best talent, skills and investment, enabling the welsh FinTech ecosystem to make a tangible impact on the global and local stage. 

Through their highly-regarded skills strategy to create a constant pipeline of talent required by FinTechs to thrive, FinTech Wales has recorded an 81% success rate in the first year of their Coding and Data Academies, and their award winning accelerator programme, The Foundry, has taken 23 FinTech startups through a ten week programme who have collectively achieved over £20 million investment and created 150 jobs in Wales.  Their new city centre office is now key to their strategy to create the most collaborative ecosystem in the world.