IMPACT
The Welsh
tech dragons
You don’t need your own business
idea for us to help you become the
next Welsh high-tech startup
T
he Alacrity Foundation,
established in 2013, is the
home of an educational
programme that mentors and
trains graduates to become
the new generation of successful
entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector.
The Foundation is an educational
charitable trust supported by the
Welsh Government, Wesley Clover
and the Waterloo Foundation.
Based in Newport, Alacrity is one of a
number of successful incubators in South
Wales. In Newport itself there are three
substantial incubators and accelerators
supporting the emergence of a significant
tech sector in the region. Alacrity is also
part of a much wider ecosystem of high-
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Dr Wil Williams
Chief Executive Officer of
Alacrity Foundation (UK)
Wil is responsible for the
strategic and operational
development of the Alacrity
Foundation. Before joining Alacrity
Wil spent over 20 years
as an academic and academic
manager, focussing
on postgraduate education
technology innovation organisations
bringing investors, academic institutions,
entrepreneurs and governments together
to create technology start-up funds
around the globe.
The Foundation runs a demand-
led programme that is one year in
duration. Students are drawn from
a range of disciplines, but perhaps
understandably most students have a
computing background. The programme
is structured around the development of
teams that work on projects provided by
private and public sector organisations.
We try to solve their problems – what
is hurting them, and can we help?
The programme recruits a very limited
number of graduates every year. Our