Strengthening Startup Ecosystems: The Talent Factor

Strengthening Startup Ecosystems: The Talent Factor offers an opportunity to reconsider one of the most frequently invoked, yet least examined, terms in contemporary innovation policy: talent. In discussions of entrepreneurial ecosystems, talent is often treated in narrow and instrumental terms, as a question of supply, skills, or workforce gaps. Yet Amali de Alwis’s career points to a broader and more revealing perspective. Talent is not simply something that exists waiting to be matched to opportunity; it is also something recognised, cultivated, and enabled by the social, educational, and institutional environment in which innovation takes place.
Drawing on experience across technology, entrepreneurship, and inclusive innovation, Amali has consistently worked at the intersection of capability-building and ecosystem development. Her leadership has foregrounded questions that are especially salient for universities, founders, investors, and policymakers alike: who gets to participate in innovation, how potential is identified and supported, and what kinds of institutions are needed if entrepreneurial ecosystems are to be both dynamic and broadly generative.
This fireside chat will explore the talent factor in that richer sense. Rather than focusing only on how ecosystems compete for scarce skills, it will consider how they create the conditions in which talent can flourish: through education, networks, confidence, visibility, and a wider understanding of who belongs in entrepreneurial life. The discussion invites a more expansive view of startup ecosystems, not simply as engines of venture creation, but as social and institutional arrangements through which human potential is translated into innovation, leadership, and long-term economic vitality.

Amali de Alwis MBE is an experienced entrepreneur and tech leader, with a history of successfully building impactful companies and supporting organisations ranging from start-ups to global multinationals. She currently works in Startups and Venture Capital at AWS, prior to which she was CEO of climate and data accelerator Subak, Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups UK, and CEO of Code First: Girls. In addition to her day job, Amali is a passionate NED. She is on the Board at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, fund manager Aberdeen's Charitable Foundation, Ada National College for Digital Skills, and Chair at EdTech CIC Digital Camp. She was a founding member of Tech Talent Charter, was named as ‘The most Influential woman in UK IT’ by Computer Weekly and was awarded an MBE in 2019 in the New Year's Honours list for Services to Diversity and Training in the Tech Industry.

This event is open to all and free to attend - please book your place.

This event is organised in collaboration between Wolfson College Research Networks and the Innovation Ecosystems Network.

This event will take place in the Lee Hall which has step-free access and an accessible toilet.

If you have any questions, please contact our events team - [email protected]

The Wolfson College Research Networks are the College’s central hub for research activity, fostering excellence in learning, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Organising and curating a diverse programme of academic events, the Research Networks support the College’s research hubs and initiatives, and facilitates knowledge exchange by connecting scholars across disciplines within Wolfson, the wider University, and industry.

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The Innovation Ecosystems Network convenes expertise and research on strategies, policies, and practices for successful innovation and entrepreneurship outcomes in cities, regions, and nations.

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Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom

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