Repair Cafe Wales

What Repair Cafe Wales does

Repair Cafe Wales is a registered charity (number 1210850) in England and Wales, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Newport, Wales. The organization supports a network of pop-up repair cafe events held on regular dates at community venues across Wales, where volunteer fixers repair broken household items — including clothes, electricals, technology, woodwork, children's toys, furniture, and bikes — free of charge for community members. As of the latest data, the network spans 100+ locations across North, South, and West Wales, with extension into English border areas including Oswestry.

The operating platform is built on a WordPress-based volunteer management system that handles online repair submissions, volunteer recruitment, risk assessments, location safety checks, and event coordination. Since 2022, the organization has captured real-time repair submission data from all participating locations, giving it a centralized operational dataset. Additional product offerings include Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) for electrical safety of repaired items, a two-tier membership program (Associate and Affiliate) for new and existing repair cafe operators, and a 'Start a Repair Cafe' program providing operational guidance.

The business model is non-commercial: all repairs are provided free of charge, with visitors expected to supply and pay for any replacement parts. Revenue is derived from voluntary donations and Welsh Government grants — specifically the Circular Economy Fund and the Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). The organization operates with 1-10 employees and is governed as a membership-based charity rather than as an investor-owned entity.

Name

Repair Cafe Wales

Legal name

Repair Cafe Wales

Website

https://repaircafewales.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Repair Cafe Wales is a registered charity that supports a network of 100+ pop-up community repair cafe events across Wales, where volunteers fix broken household items free of charge for local residents, funded by donations and Welsh Government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Repair Services

NAICS

Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (8114), Other Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (81149)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600)

akta.pro primary industry

Furniture Repair & Minor Restoration (HSAGAAAI)

Keywords

• Community repair services
• Circular economy programs
• Volunteer-led repairs
• Household item restoration
• Sustainable consumption initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Wales

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Voluntary donations from visitors are welcome to cover operational costs including tools and equipment purchases and service development
2. Government Funding: Funded by Welsh Government Circular Economy Fund and supported by Welsh Government's Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme administered by WCVA

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Repair Cafe Wales is a registered charity that opens and supports pop-up repair cafés across Wales, where volunteers repair broken household items — including clothes, household electrics, technology, woodwork, children's toys, furniture, and bikes — free of charge for local community members. The organization also runs PAT testing for repaired electricals, a two-tier membership programme for new and existing café operators, and a "Start a Repair Café" onboarding programme, coordinated through a WordPress-based volunteer management and online repair submission platform.

Product overview

Repair Cafe Wales operates a network of pop-up community repair cafés across Wales, offering free repair services for household items. The organization provides a centralized platform for event management, volunteer coordination, and member support. Key offerings include community repair events, PAT testing services, and a membership program for local repair café operators. The organization uses a WordPress-based platform to manage volunteer forms, risk assessments, safety checks, and event scheduling across its network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Repair Café Events

Quantifiable outcome

• Real-time data tracked on repairs completed across all locations since 2022

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers the Welsh Government Landfill Disposal Tax Community Scheme funding for Repair Cafe Wales
• Circular Economy WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working on circular economy initiatives across Wales
• Community Repair NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-wide network connecting community repair initiatives including Repair Cafe Wales
• Restart ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLondon-based organization promoting community electronics repair, aligned with repair cafe movement
• Keep Wales TidymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental charity focused on keeping Wales clean and green, aligned with waste reduction goals
• Benthyg CymrumajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWelsh community lending library of things, promoting sharing economy and reducing consumption
• Cycle Training WalesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBicycle training organization, partnered for bike repair events and services
• Fly Tipping Action WalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization tackling fly tipping in Wales, aligned with waste reduction mission
• TechniquestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience discovery centre in Cardiff, promoting STEM education and learning
• Renew WalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization helping communities in Wales take action on climate change
• Climate Action WalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment program supporting climate action initiatives across Wales
• Boomerang CardiffminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCardiff-based community organization promoting reuse and repair
• WebjectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWeb design company based in Cardiff, provides website design services
• Centre for African EntrepreneurshipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntrepreneurship organization supporting diverse community engagement

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Remake Newport: Newport-based community reuse initiative (the city where Repair Cafe Wales is headquartered); direct overlap in geography, audience, and repair/reuse mission.
• Keep Wales Tidy: Welsh environmental charity focused on waste reduction and clean communities; aligned mission and explicit partner of Repair Cafe Wales for cross-promotion.
• Boomerang Cardiff: Cardiff-based reuse and repair community organisation; explicit partner of Repair Cafe Wales operating an overlapping reuse-and-repair mandate in the same Welsh market.

Broad incumbents

• iFixit: Global repair community and parts marketplace offering free repair manuals; provides the digital-knowledge backbone that complements Repair Cafe Wales' in-person volunteer repair events.
• The Furniture Reuse Network: UK charity umbrella for furniture reuse organisations; comparable in mission (diverting household items from landfill) but operating at scale across paid retail channels rather than volunteer events.
• Repair Café International: The Dutch-origin global founder of the Repair Café movement, licensing the concept internationally. Repair Cafe Wales is effectively a regional affiliate of this broader movement.

Others

• Freegle: UK-wide free reuse network diverting household items from waste; complementary rather than competitive, addressing the 'pass-it-on' alternative to throw-away behaviour that Repair Cafe Wales also targets.

Direct peers

• Benthyg Cymru: Welsh community library-of-things promoting sharing economy and reduced consumption; explicit partner of Repair Cafe Wales and operates an adjacent reuse-not-buy model in the same geography.
• Community Repair Network: A UK-wide network connecting community repair initiatives including Repair Cafe Wales. Operates as both peer and partner, sharing best practice, training, and visibility across member repair cafés.
• Restart Project: The Restart Project runs community-led electronics repair events (Restart Parties) across the UK, sharing the same volunteer-fixer, free-repair, skill-share ethos as Repair Cafe Wales and listed as an explicit partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RepairCafeWales
• Facebookfacebook.com/repaircafewales
• Instagraminstagram.com/repaircafewales
• TikToktiktok.com/@repaircafewales
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/repair-cafe-wales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Repair Cafe Wales