Investors expand primarily to address internal problems or seize opportunities in certain markets. These decisions are influenced by several key factors, including the availability of incentives, geopolitical considerations, access to renewable energy, the availability of financing, the availability of talent, and sustainability concerns. These elements collectively shape where and why companies choose to invest.
Investors require comprehensive support to ensure their projects are successfully and efficiently implemented. Investment promotion agencies (IPAs) can provide this by understanding investors’ requirements, objectives, concerns, and opportunities. Direct contact with investors is crucial to offer tailored support that meets their specific needs.
Providing investors with high-quality support is essential for several reasons. High-quality support increases the likelihood of an investor choosing your location for their project. Additionally, once they have chosen your region, it ensures smooth and efficient project implementation. Often, investments fail to materialize because companies cannot get what they need in a location (e.g., permitting, site availability, utilities). Providing excellent support enables IPAs to differentiate their region from competitors, reflecting the quality of the IPA and the region itself. Poor service can result in lost projects, damaged relationships, and a tarnished reputation.
Investors require support in various areas, such as identifying market opportunities, securing talent, obtaining property for their projects, identifying partners and suppliers, securing utilities and raw materials, obtaining incentives, and assistance with setup processes like registration, taxes, and permitting. IPAs can provide varying degrees of assistance.
The highest level of support an IPA can offer involves hands-on, tailored assistance. This requires sitting down with investors in your target sectors to fully understand their needs. For example, this could involve meeting with a target investor to discuss their specific property requirements, conducting research to identify available properties in the region that match these requirements, gathering data on these sites, and then reporting back to the investor with a comprehensive list of available properties, including relevant data and contact information. This level of support demonstrates a deep understanding of an investor’s needs, increasing the likelihood of securing an investment.
Seeking out opportunities at events or conferences to hear investors speak about their international expansion plans is invaluable, as it reveals exactly what they prioritize when selecting a location. FDI Center’s Advanced FDI Leadership Programme, for instance, offers participants direct contact with investors, allowing them to hear first-hand about their international operations, needs, and requirements for future expansion. This direct interaction provides invaluable insights into what investors truly need, helping IPAs tailor their support more effectively.