Grow your business in Northern Ireland
More than 1,100 international firms are already operating in Northern Ireland. They benefit from our talented workforce, competitive operating costs, and world-class infrastructure. They also enjoy our high standard of living, business-friendly support packages, and easy access to global markets. For these reasons and more, 70% of our investors choose to re-invest.
What others are saying
Why choose to grow your business in Northern Ireland?
Watch our video to discover why Northern Ireland is the ideal location to expand your business.
Our sectors
Technology
Area of sector expertise
- Cyber security
- AI & data analytics
- Sports technology
- Telecom, mobile & data networks
- IT services
- GovTech
- Smart cities
- Northern Ireland is the world's top destination for Financial Services technology investment and the number one international investment location for US cyber security firms (FT fDi Markets, 2021).
- Belfast is one of the best cities in the UK to work in tech- and the best place to work as a software developer (TechNation).
- Belfast has been named one of the world's top 15 Digital Economies of the Future and ranked 2nd in the UK (11th in Europe) in a poll of Top 25 Tech Cities of the Future (Financial Times fDi Intelligence).
Businesses here include
Financial services
Area of sector expertise
- Fintech
- Asset and wealth management
- Banking and capital markets
- Governance, risk and compliance
- Insurance, assurance and insuretech
- Northern Ireland is the world's top region for fintech inward investment.
- $500 billion flows through Belfast each day, representing 10% of the global FX market.
- Belfast is ranked in the top 3 Global Fintech locations of the future after London and Signapore (fDI Intelligence Fintech location of the Future 2019/20).
Businesses here include
Legal and professional services
Area of sector expertise
- Legal services
- Legaltech
- Accounting
- Management consultancy
- Tech for professional services
- Two of the top 15 law schools in the UK are in Northern Ireland.
- Belfast has been identified as one of the top 10 global emerging lawtech scenes alongside London, San Francisco, Singapore and Tel Aviv (Law Society England & Wales, 2019).
- PwC and Google's first European Innovation lab was established in Belfast in 2015 (PwC).
- Operating costs for a legal services center in Northern Ireland are up to 50% lower than London and 40% lower than New York.
Businesses here include
Global business services
Area of sector expertise
- Customer experience
- Financial and accounting
- Technical support
- Human resources
- Operating costs are 33% lower than London, 11% lower than Dublin and 51% lower than New York.
- 20,000 people are employed in 40 shared services, contact or knowledge centres.
- 5,500+ graduates with a degree in areas including finance, accounting, economics, maths, law and computing.
Businesses here include
Life and health sciences
Area of sector expertise
- Precision medicine
- Pharma and biotech
- Clinical trials
- Diagnostics
- Medtech
- Vibrant cluster of 250+ businesses, international investors and indigenous companies, employing 8,500. Exporting globally to over 140 countries.
- Over 17 world-leading research centres with more than 1,000 researchers
- 10% of the world's cholesterol tests are made in Northern Ireland.
Materials handling
Area of sector expertise
- Mining and construction
- Recycling
- Handling equipment and vehicles
- Agri-machinery
- Supply chain
- 40% of the world’s mobile stone crushing and gravel screening equipment is made in Northern Ireland.
- When you buy from Northern Ireland, you buy 60 years of leading the world in Mobile Bulk Materials Processing equipment.
- 8,000 people are employed in over 100 companies.
Aerospace and defence
Area of sector expertise
- Interiors
- Structures
- Supply chain
- 1 in 3 aircraft seats are manufactured in Northern Ireland.
- Companies are internationally accredited AS9100, ISO9001 and NADCAP.
- SC21 - NI Aerospace has 5 Gold, 8 Silver and 5 Bronze awards, with more Golds than any other UK region.
Businesses here include
Advanced manufacturing and engineering
Area of sector expertise
- Aerospace and defence
- Automotive
- Construction
- Materials handling
- Electronics
- Green growth and renewable energy
- Consumer products
- Products exported to over 100 countries.
- 44,000 employees in 2,000 companies.
- Operating costs up to 34% lower than USA, 30% lower than France and 36% lower than Germany.
Businesses here include
Green growth and renewable energy
Area of sector expertise
- Low carbon energy (including onshore/ offshore wind)
- Energy efficiency
- Energy storage and intelligent energy systems
- Water and waste water
- Low carbon transport
- Data centres
- Waste and resouces
- The low carbon sector employs more than 12,000 people in over 300 companies.
- Northern Irish companies have the capability of providing a range of innovative products and services to address the specific needs of the various energy, water and transport supply chains.
- 15 competence and research centres.
Businesses here include
Creative technology
Area of sector expertise
- Animation
- Gaming
- EdTech
- Interactive content
- Film & TV production
- HBO series Game of Thrones was filmed in Northern Ireland.
- Belfast's Titanic Studios is one of the largest film and TV production studios in Europe.
- Oscar-winning live action short film The Shore was filmed in Northern Ireland.
Businesses here include
Food and drink
Area of sector expertise
- Meat
- Dairy
- Drinks
- Other
- World leader in traceability and food security. We created APHIS, an electronic cattle tracing database.
- Food and drink products from Northern Ireland are available in more than 70 countries.
- Home to Bushmills, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.
Businesses here include
Construction
Area of sector expertise
- Construction contractors
- Manufactured construction products
- Construction services
- 10,000 firms within the sector of which 215 achieved sales in excess of £5M per annum.
- Northern Ireland firms have worked on major projects such as:
- London 2012
- Crossrail
- Titanic Signature Project
- Northern Ireland firms have also worked on:
- National schools and hospitals projects
- Fit-out on iconic buildings such as 1 Hyde Park
- Fit-out on a range of retail projects across Europe
Businesses here include
International education
Area of sector expertise
- Queens University
- Ulster University
- University-affiliated teacher training colleges
- English language teaching
- Boarding schools
- Vocational education and training
- Northern Ireland hosts 45,000 students from over 100 countries.
- Northern Ireland is recognised as having one of the best education systems in Europe. We’re also renowned for our high quality of life, low cost of living, clean environment, lively social scene and the friendliness of our people.
- Queen’s University is in the top 1% of universities in the world.
- Ulster University ranks in the Times Higher Education Supplement’s 150 under 50 – a global comparison of young universities.
Businesses here include
How we can help
Invest Northern Ireland is the region’s economic development agency. We help U.S. companies scale internationally by introducing them to Northern Ireland’s high-quality, cost-effective, scalable talent pool, while providing guidance and support throughout the lifespan of their investment. We offer tailored overseas expansion guidance and soft landing support, which can include…
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Talent validation
We’ll help assess whether the talent you need can be found in Northern Ireland, and make relevant introductions to help you source it.
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Training and recruitment support
Our unique Assured Skills program ensures you have access to an appropriately qualified, skilled talent pipeline. It’s 100% funded and organized by the Northern Ireland government.
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Property search and selection
We can help with your search for suitable premises, connecting you to relevant databases and property agents in the region.
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Introductions to centres of excellence
We’ll help you connect with our universities and colleges so you can tap into our world-leading research capabilities and access talent.
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Financial incentives
We offer one of the most attractive financial support packages available in Europe, including grants for employment, training and R&D.
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Business networks
We can help connect you with business networks across a range of sectors including technology, financial, professional & business services, advanced manufacturing and life & health sciences.
Case studies
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Aflac Northern Ireland
Fortune 500 company considered 15 locations, then found talent in Northern Ireland.
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bazaarvoice
Each month in the Bazaarvoice network, more than a billion consumers create, view and share authentic user-generated content including reviews, questions and answers and social photos across more than 6,200 global brand and retailer...
Contact us
Get in touch to discuss how Invest Northern Ireland can help support your company's international growth.
Contact a member of our team directly via LinkedIn.
Follow us
Twitter: InvestNI_AMER LinkedIn: Invest Northern Ireland Americas
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