Our commitment to growing the North West economy

Featured in the July 2024 edition of Londonderry Chamber’s ‘Connected’ Magazine.

The past few months have brought positive news for the North West. Investors and indigenous businesses have announced investments in the region that will create over 1,400 new jobs in the coming years. Vertiv, EY, Foods Connected, FinTru and FabPlus, are just a few of the companies committed to growing their business in the North West. This confidence in the region as a competitive and innovative place to do business is a gratifying outcome to the collaborative effort to develop the region’s skills base and reputation for innovation.  

However, we know there is much more to be done to support this region to flourish, deliver balanced regional growth and create an environment where we have more companies starting, investing and growing in the region.

As part of our Action Plan in response to the Independent Review we have made a commitment to supporting greater regional balance across all parts of Northern Ireland

To do that we are working with the Department for the Economy on a new strategic approach to deliver regional balance in Northern Ireland’s economy. An outworking of this will be a Regional Economic Plan for Northern Ireland, which will identify how public-funded interventions are used to address bespoke regional challenges and inequalities across NI.

The plan, due for publication this autumn, is being co-produced in partnership with all relevant economic development stakeholders (in particular councils and Further and Higher Education institutions). It will have regional priorities, investment propositions and targets, and will tie in with Community Planning Partnerships. 

Strong partnership working to encourage investment in the regions by indigenous and international businesses is more important than ever. In the North West we have already put this into action with increased local engagement with the local council, Chamber of Commerce, university, regional college, and businesses in the North West. 

Our recently launched Founder Labs is another example of partnership in action. The programme is funded by us and New Deal Entrepreneurship Funding through the Northern Ireland Office. Together we are investing £5million to support a total of 40 high-tech start-ups over the next four years. We have appointed a consortium to deliver the programme for us. Led by Ormeau Baths in Belfast in partnership with Dogpatch Labs in Dublin, The AMP in Derry and Queen’s University Belfast, the programme will deliver regional and all-Island partnership and learning.

Our forthcoming three-year Business Strategy and 2024/25 business plan will provide more detail and firm targets and actions to support these above commitments.

Boosting productivity leads to greater profits and a better performing economy. Derry experienced the highest growth in productivity – 65.9% – over the last decade, of all UK regions. We need to build on this.

Our North West regional office is based in Derry and works closely with businesses across the North West region to provide personalised support and expert advice on a range of areas from selling outside Northern Ireland, job creation, upskilling staff, and how to access external funding opportunities. In the last five years (to March 2023) we have supported over 600 businesses in the North West, contributing to an investment of £323m in the region, and the creation of 2,784 new jobs.

We offer a myriad of programs, workshops, and training sessions geared towards fostering business growth and improving productivity. In the last 12 months, we have hosted 30 workshops in the region covering a range of topics including reducing energy costs, supply chain and managing change in a business. These workshops were attended by over 1,500 people.  

For example: we partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and Derry City and Strabane District Council to deliver a series of workshops under the theme ‘Growth North West’. The workshops focused on providing businesses in the region with the knowledge and tools to implement more efficient processes which will help them improve productivity and become more profitable. 

Our Ambition to Grow programme is helping manufacturers, engineering firms and professional services businesses in the NW region to invest over £3.2million collectively in their businesses. Centred around innovation and exporting, these investments will help these businesses be more productive and will create nearly 50 new jobs in the area which will contribute £1.4m into the Northern Ireland economy through salaries.  

And we are supporting the delivery of the Derry & Strabane City Deal to ensure the strategic investments deliver on the right transformation for the region. With a capital injection of around £250m, the City Deal is poised to create significant investments in infrastructure which will lead to higher-paying jobs and contribute significantly to a more regionally balanced economy. We have a dedicated City Deals team which is actively collaborating with the Council and partners to fully unlock the potential this investment holds. 

We continue to promote the North West to potential international investors as part of our wider investment proposition. Earlier this year, over 30 of our international staff from across Europe, the US, IMEA and Asia Pacific visited Derry to strengthen their knowledge about the North West’s unique investment proposition. At the same time, they were able to share their knowledge with the Council and local stakeholders about what investors from different regions are looking for when searching for a location to invest. This will now help the Council  fine tune the region’s  investment proposition; and the colleges and universities to shape the courses they offer to meet the skills investors are looking for. 

Our support is wide and varied. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to set up a new business, or an SME looking to grow, they are many ways we can help. We are always keen to hear from businesses looking to scale up, sell outside of Northern Ireland, or entrepreneurs with a new export focussed business idea. If that is you, then connect with our Business Support Team at 0800 181 4422 to see if we can support you to achieve your business ambitions.