Two Gwent business people have been appointed onto a multi-disciplinary team of influential and highly successful individuals set up to drive forward the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme for Wales.

Wales was selected last year to participate in the programme, which is a global initiative designed to help regions accelerate economic growth and job creation through innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

Members of the REAP Champion Panel, who have been appointed by Economy Minister Edwina Hart, are:

Professor Simon J. Gibson, Wesley Clover Corporation; Hayley Parsons, founder of GoCompare.com; Ashley Cooper, Catalyst Growth Partners; Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, University of West England; Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott, Swansea University; Daniel Mines, Admiral Group; Dr Drew Nelson, IQE plc; and James Taylor, SuperStars.

The panel represents five key stakeholder groups that inform and influence regional strategy covering academia, entrepreneurs, finance, government and industry.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “The Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme provides a great opportunity to work with the world renowned MIT faculty and the wider REAP community to develop a strategy specifically for Wales that puts innovation-driven entrepreneurship at the heart of the drive to create jobs and boost the economy.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are key drivers of economic growth and prosperity and this initiative will not only enhance the work we are already doing in Wales but add a new dimension and act as a catalyst to accelerate economic growth and help inform future direction.

“I attach great importance to the role of this Panel and thank the members for their support and I very much look forward to their contribution.”

Wales has been selected to join seven other regions on the two year programme Bangkok Thailand, Tokyo Japan, Beijing China, South West Norway, Santiago Chile, Ashdod Israel and Al Madinah Saudi Arabia.

Partnership is a key component of the programme with selected regions working together to strengthen their areas of comparative advantage, sharing best practice and experience while working with and benefiting from the extensive knowledge and experience of a diverse group from the MIT faculty.

The panel will make recommendations to the Welsh Government regarding the development and implementation of a tailor-made strategy to strengthen Wales’ comparative advantage and enhance the impact of its innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Representing the interests of their stakeholder group, the panel will identify opportunities and work to build support to implement various elements of Wales’ IDE ecosystem strategy.

The champions will attend four international workshops over a two year period, October 2015 – July 2017, and meet in Wales with their team during interim efforts to drive change in Wales. The programme launches in October with the first of four interactive workshops at MIT.