My ‘muddy boots’ fix for Development Bank

WHILE Wales has plenty of economic development activity, what we lack is absolute confidence that those managing the system are regularly exposed to the day-to-day realities of those businesses that genuinely create jobs and wealth.

- DYLAN JONES EVANS

So here is a simple test: how often do those leading an economic development organisation appear in person at business premises to meet firms where they operate?

Not at a stakeholder lunch or a summit but on the shop floor, in the yard, and in the back office where the owner is juggling cashflow, recruitment and rising costs?

It's not an ideal metric but is a revealing one, and that is why a recent Freedom of Information response from the Development Bank of Wales is so significant - because it highlights a leadership model that appears not to be in direct contact with Welsh businesses.

In response to a request for the number of in-person business visits made by the chair (nota full-time role) and chief executive of the development bank during 2025, the bank replied that it “does not undertake routine individual business visits” because that function is carried out by its Wales-wide delivery teams.

The bank then identified one engagement that met the definition set out in the request: the chief executive accompanying the First Minister on a visit to a Welsh firm to launch their own Business Succession Fund.

Yes, read that again. The chief executive of the Development Bank of Wales made just one visit to a Welsh business in 12 months and that was to launch their own new succession fund.

However, despite her much busier schedule, the Minister for the Economy found time to visit or meet with more than 100 businesses in 2025, and this figure did not include conferences, meetings, or events she also attended.