Wales commits £2.1 million to put AI to work for SMEs
The Welsh Government has confirmed £2.1 million in targeted support to help small and medium-sized enterprises apply AI in practical, ethical ways. The goal is simple: improve productivity, spark new ideas, and keep Welsh businesses competitive.
The funding backs awareness, adoption, and skills at the same time-so firms can test AI, build confidence, and scale what works.
What's funded
- £600,000 for Business Wales to run an AI awareness and adoption programme, acting on recent recommendations to lift SME productivity and speed up responsible AI use.
- £500,000 for tourism and events, including the AI Pollination Project with the Hartree Centre Cardiff Hub and Cardiff University's Digital Transformation Innovation Institute. Up to 1,000 tourism businesses will build practical AI skills for digital marketing and content creation.
- £1 million through the Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) for AI upskilling. Employers contribute 25% of AI training costs (50% for other FSP courses), helping close digital skills gaps and support inclusive growth.
Leadership perspective
Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, said this programme will help ensure SMEs across all sectors are ready to use emerging AI technologies in responsible, inclusive and ambitious ways. She underlined its role in putting the AI Plan for Wales into action and enabling people, communities, and businesses to realise the benefits of AI.
Why this matters for government teams
- Delivery readiness: Provides a clear pathway-awareness, adoption, and skills-so support can be sequenced and measured.
- Inclusive growth: Lower training costs reduce barriers for microbusinesses and rural firms.
- Evidence and impact: Back practical use cases (marketing, customer service, workflow automation) and track outcomes like time saved and revenue uplift.
- Responsible use: Keeps ethics, data protection, and transparency central to deployment.
Practical steps for public bodies and partners
- Coordinate a single front door for SMEs via Business Wales, signposting the AI awareness offer and FSP routes.
- Publish simple, sector-specific playbooks (tourism, retail, manufacturing, services) with quick-start tools, risk checks, and case studies.
- Encourage low-risk pilots first: content generation, customer support, reporting, and administrative workflows.
- Embed safeguards: DPIAs where needed, clear human oversight, and guidance on data quality and IP.
- Measure what matters: productivity gains, cost-to-serve reduction, customer satisfaction, and skills progression.
Early proof point
Swansea-based Something Different Wholesale is already using AI to process data, automate tasks, support customer service, and run a multilingual global website. It shows what small teams can achieve with focused use cases and the right skills.
Ethics and alignment
The programme explicitly prioritises responsible adoption. Public sector teams can align implementation with the AI Plan for Wales, ensuring transparency, privacy, and fair outcomes are baked into every project.
Tourism and events: where to focus
- Content creation and campaign testing to reach new audiences.
- Multilingual websites and chat for international visitors.
- Itinerary suggestions and event FAQs using curated, trusted data.
- Workforce tools: transcription, meeting notes, and translation to reduce admin load.
Skills: turning interest into capability
- Use the FSP co-funding to build core AI literacy for owners and staff.
- Prioritise hands-on training that maps to day-to-day tasks, not abstract theory.
- Track skills adoption inside firms-who uses what, how often, and with what business result.
For teams planning structured learning by job role, see curated course paths at Complete AI Training.
Image credit: iStock
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