Five burgeoning Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise start-ups have secured more than £1m in funding resulting in the centre appointing corporate investment specialist Myra Tabor to its board.

The new non-executive director has spent four decades investing in and advising companies across the globe. This includes her current role as CEO of Cognis Capital, as an advisor to the World Bank privatisation initiative in Zambia and heading up the Special Investments Group at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Welsh ICE CEO Gareth Jones said the announcements are part of efforts from the organisation to drive a spirit of ambition among small business in Wales, in a bid for the region to be recognised alongside the Northern Powerhouse or Shoreditch as having the right conditions to grow a successful business.

He said: “Myra brings with her a wealth of expertise, experience and an enviable network of connections. In our first year, there were no significant fundraising rounds, but year on year we have seen continued growth, and that has raised ambitions for other members seeing peers achieve success in raising capital.

"As each generation matures, and there are more founders around to act as mentors, we will hopefully see businesspeople in Wales tapping into these tools of success, leading to increased jobs, opportunities, and levels of aspiration across the region.”

Ms Tabor originally from Banwen in Neath said: “I am delighted to be joining Welsh ICE at this stage in its development with many exciting projects on the horizon. It is an absolute privilege to be involved in such a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment and the number of start-up businesses now involved speaks volumes for the ambitions of Welsh enterprise.”

The five companies to secure funding; Fusion Health, Profit Sourcery, and three currently in stealth mode, come from a wide-range of sectors including health, property, online trading and thought-leadership platforms.

All of the companies are part of the ICE community, having been supported through either the ICE Accelerator, the ICE 50 or the pre-start 5-9 club programmes. The funding comes from a range of sources including private, international and local investors as well as financial institutions.