London Tech Week day 2: Tech diplomacy in action
Day 2 of London Tech Week made it clear our global influence grows through emerging markets, writes Russ Shaw in his Tech Week diary
As day two of London Tech Week 2025 draws to a close, it’s worth reflecting on the sheer influence of the capital on proceedings so far. In the discussions I’ve been part of and attended, it’s been clear that London is not only a major draw for jobs, investment and attention, but also a springboard for emerging markets globally – whether that’s here in the UK, or further afield in the Global South.
With more than 30,000 attendees from over 125 different countries, the first two days have been a fine showcase of the accomplishments and opportunities of the capital and the wider British ecosystem, along with building promising bridges to emerging markets abroad.
From panels on the UK’s many regional ecosystems, to feature sessions with tech in Ghana and Malaysia’s digital economy leaders, London Tech Week has demonstrated both the capital’s regional and global impact, as well as the ability of tech to develop long-term alliances and drive economic growth for all.
London Tech Week isn’t just about London
Today, Peter Kyle announced “a number of significant investments” in areas like AI and fintech with the potential to deliver hundreds of jobs. It was reassuring to hear that – as well as in the capital – jobs will be created “from Edinburgh to Warwick” and beyond.
While the case of tech as a driver of economic growth has been well made, it’s vital that the benefits are felt beyond just those in London.
It’s clear from today’s conversations that tech hubs across the UK have the potential to thrive – but investment is vital for them to do so. London, as a conduit for foreign investment into the UK, has a particularly important role to play here. London Tech Week alone brings in over thousands of investors to the UK, looking for high-growth, innovative companies. Take for instance companies like Verizon and Raytheon, who have moved their offices to Reading and the Manchester area respectively, taking advantage of the UK’s incredible ecosystems and driving investment and jobs in each region.
Not only does London bring attention to the UK market as a whole, today also demonstrated its power to support growth in emerging markets overseas as well. Ghana and Malaysia – two highly innovative hubs – both had incredibly impactful showcases, capitalising on London’s global audience and own rich talent base.
I had the pleasure of attending the Tech In Ghana and Malaysia Gateway showcases this morning, where London’s ability to drive investment towards global innovation was there for all to see.
It’s important that we invest wisely in our wider ecosystem, looking to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for world class innovation, but we should not underestimate the benefit of London to those ecosystems, and the globe more widely.
Russ Shaw CBE is the founder of Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates