Winners — Major cities

London stays top while Dublin climbs one place to rank second

London, UK 

The UK capital has retained its title in fDi’s European Cities of the Future ranking in the major cities division. Major cities are defined as those with an immediate population of more than 750,000 plus a larger urban zone of more than two million, or a larger urban zone of more than four million. 

After 14 years in opposition, following the years of uncertainty that came after the Brexit referendum and the weakening levels of nationwide foreign direct investment (FDI) that ensued, the Labour Party regained power in 2024

Despite the recent political volatility, central London has continued to attract more inward FDI than any other city in Europe, bringing in almost three times as many FDI projects as any other European city in 2024 up to November. 

The UK capital comes out on top in two of the five sub-categories considered in the study: Human Capital and Lifestyle, and Business Friendliness; it is displaced by Dublin in Economic Potential, placing runner-up. 

Between January and November 2024, foreign investors announced projects worth a total of $5.63bn, with more than one-third of this coming from the US. Real estate has dominated the scene in terms of capital expenditure (capex). The sector has sharply recovered from the lows touched during the Covid-19 pandemic, with capex increasing by 366% between 2020 and 2024. Among the standout development projects announced in 2024, France-based Axa Investment Managers announced a £480m ($595.2m) investment in a new 36-story commercial building at 50 Fenchurch Street in London in March.

Dublin, Ireland

The Irish capital advanced one spot in this year’s ranking of major European cities, ranking second.

Dublin is renowned for fund management, data centres and global tech companies, and has held onto its reputation as a key player among European cities in attracting multinationals. 

The city has emerged as a preeminent choice for global tech companies looking at Europe, thanks to its highly educated workforce, established business environment, low corporate tax rate and EU membership. 

Dublin attracted 90 FDI projects in 2024 — the third-highest in Europe. In particular, the city was triumphant in the Economic Potential category. 

Inward greenfield FDI investment in the communications sector got a further boost in 2024, with US-based Vantage Data Centres pledging $1.09bn to open a new 38,000 sq m data centre campus in Dublin, to be known as DUB1.

Warsaw, Poland

The Polish capital joins the top-three bracket this year, after gaining one position from last year’s ranking. Warsaw ranks second in two of the subcategories, placing just behind London in both Human Capital and Lifestyle and Business Friendliness. 

The city has attracted the highest number of FDI related jobs than any other European city over the past five years, with multinationals such as Google and Visa responsible for many of these. 

Warsaw is a major hub for software development, with data from fDi markets identifying more than $1bn in FDI in this industry since 2020. Its economic growth trajectory is reflected in the labour market, where the unemployment rate was as low as 1.4% as of June 2024, according to figures from the city statistical office.

Winners — Large cities

Germany continues to thrive among large cities

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

German cities stand out in fDi’s European Cities of the Future ranking in the large cities weight division, which covers cities and urban areas with an immediate population of more than 500,000 plus a larger urban zone of more than one million people (or a large urban zone of more than two million people). 

The country’s financial centre, Frankfurt, places first this year, followed by Hamburg in second place. Once again, a Polish city, Kraków, has risen through the ranks to finish third. 

ln 2024 until November, foreign investors announced projects worth a record-breaking $5.2bn in Frankfurt. Despite being the fifth-most populous city in Germany, Frankfurt punches above its weight for its economic clout, with FDI pledges 4.4 times larger than any other German city in the first 11 months of the year. 

Testimony to this is also that the city has retained its position in the Economic Potential subcategory. 

In July 2024, US-based CyrusOne Networks, invested $1.09bn to develop a new data centre in the city, further consolidating its position as Germany’s leading data centre market.

Hamburg, Germany

Germany’s Hamburg has retained its runner-up title among large European cities. 

One of the country’s three city-states, alongside Berlin and Bremen, it places second after Frankfurt in the Economic Potential data subcategory and third in Human Capital and Lifestyle. 

Germany is a major microelectronics force in the European context, with Hamburg being at the heart of the country’s semiconductors ecosystem. Among others, Netherlands-based Nexperia first expanded its local production facility in 2023, before announcing a year later that it would invest a further $200m to develop the next generation of wide-bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride at the site.

Kraków, Poland

The Polish city of Kraków has climbed the rankings into third place, after narrowly missing out on a podium finish in last year’s ranking. 

Poland’s second-largest city is awarded first place in two of the subcategories: Human Capital and Lifestyle, and Business Friendliness. 

Investors from Western Europe were the top source of inward FDI into Kraków, supplying 83% of its capital investment in 2024. 

The city is a major hub for shared services centres (SSCs). In 2024, Heineken announced its intention to expand its local SSCs and hire 400 new professionals across finance, management, and IT, with total investment estimated at $21.5m. Over the years, the city has been able to upgrade the value of its outsourcing offer. In 2024 to November, research and development (R&D) attracted the lion’s share of FDI projects across all sectors, with most R&D investors coming from the software and IT sector.

Winners — Mid-sized cities

No change in the top three, with Wrocław continuing to dominate

Wrocław, Poland 

The Polish city of Wrocław retains its title as the winner of fDi’s European City of the Future in the mid-sized cities division. This group is defined as one with an immediate population of more than 200,000 and an urban area of more than 750,000 people or an immediate population of more than 350,000. 

Wrocław attracts the second-largest capital investment among all the Polish cities, with an FDI capex of more than $10.8bn over the past five years, according to data from fDi markets. 

Wrocław, whose tech prowess gained it the nickname of the Polish Silicon Valley, has attracted 52 FDI projects in software and IT services since January 2020, with globally renowned software developers such as GlobalLogic, a subsidiary of Hitachi, establishing local headquarters in the city.

Zürich, Switzerland

Switzerland’s financial centre Zürich, retains its runner-up position in this year’s ranking. 

Financial services were among the top recipients of FDI in the city between January 2020 and November 2024, with 44 projects recorded. Within the financial service sector, investment banking received the lion’s share of this investment, with capital commitments worth $271m. 

The city stood out as the top performer in the Economic Potential subcategory, and it made the top 10 also for Human Capital and Lifestyle, Connectivity and Business Friendliness.

Vilnius, Lithuania 

The Lithuanian capital of Vilnius also retained its third-place finish in the mid-sized cities division. 

The city ranked within the top 10 for Economic Potential, Human Capital and Lifestyle, and Business Friendliness. 

The city is a growing tech hub, and the centre of Lithuania’s fintech boom, with more than 200 fintech companies. According to fDi markets data, Vilnius has attracted 70% of Lithuania’s total FDI in the financial services cluster over the past five years.

Winners — Small cities

Luxembourg keeps the top spot and Cork makes a comeback

Luxembourg 

Luxembourg retained its crown as top European City of the Future among small cities — those with an immediate population between 100,000 and 350,000. The trilingual city outperformed its peers, winning two subcategories — Economic Potential and Business Friendliness. 

Luxembourg has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Europe. Its financial industry, combined with an international, multilingual and skilled workforce feature among the key pillars of its economic success.

With finance accounting for 25% of the country’s GDP, capital investment in financial services accounted for almost half (45.5%) of total FDI into Luxembourg City between January 2020 and November 2024, fDi Markets data shows. Inward capital investment in financial services was 5.5 times larger than the second-highest sector over the same period.

Cork, Ireland 

Cork bounced back in the 2024 ranking, reclaiming second place among European small cities. The city placed in the top two for Economic Potential and in the top three for Business Friendliness. With more than 190 multinational companies, software and IT services accounted for 75% of the city’s total FDI capital expenditure, according to data from fDi markets. 

US-based investors Results CX, IBM and ProofPoint all announced investments in Cork in the first half of 2024. Cumulatively, US investors have invested more than $2bn into Cork since January 2020, with an average of 11 US companies investing in the Irish city each year. As the second-most densely populated city in Ireland, it is home to six higher education institutions and boosts a highly educated and skilled workforce. 

Geneva, Switzerland 

Geneva retains its third overall ranking among European small cities and holds onto its third-place finish in the Economic Potential subcategory. The second-most populous city in Switzerland is a major centre of international diplomacy, home to the UN’s European headquarters and the Red Cross. 

The city’s share of financial services FDI jumped considerably in 2024, up by 76% from the previous year.

Winners — Micro cities

Zug, Limerick and Galway still top three

Zug, Switzerland 

The Swiss town of Zug has retained its crown in the European City of the Future ranking of mid-sized cities — those with an immediate population below 100,000. 

The town offers foreign investors the lowest tax rate in Switzerland, which has significantly contributed to its success in attracting foreign investment across a range of sectors. 

From January 2020 to November 2024, fDi Markets data recorded 43 greenfield FDI projects in the city, with the business services sector attracting the lion’s share of these projects and capital investment. 

Limerick, Ireland 

Ireland’s third-largest city, Limerick, retains its second-place position for the third consecutive year. 

Limerick ranks in the top three in four subcategories, taking first in the Human Capital and Lifestyle category. 

Figures from fDi markets show that in the five years to November 2024, it attracted $3.23bn in FDI, with considerable investments in pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and biotechnology. 

More than a third of these projects were involved in research and development, with companies such as Dell Technologies and Analog Devices investing in Limerick. 

Galway, Ireland 

Like Limerick, Galway also holds onto its 2024 position, placing third.

The city ranks second in both the Economic Potential and Business Friendliness subcategories. 

The city is home to Ireland’s third-largest and growing student population. Last year, US-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital announced the city’s largest investment since 2017, to build a 345-bed student accommodation project, set to open in 2026.

Winners — FDI Strategy (Cities)

London bounces back as top major city, while Porto wins among the large cities

The winners of this year’s FDI Strategy awards were selected by a judging panel of six leading figures in the world of foreign direct investment (FDI; see page 37). They reviewed the submissions from investment promotion agencies from 60 cities across the continent. Within the major cities, London has bounced back to regain the judges’ favour as the main major city for its investment promotion strategy. After a third-place finish in 2024, Portugal’s Porto wins for its FDI strategy among large cities, while Vilnius stands victorious among mid-sized cities. Basel has won top recognition among the small cities, while Limerick shines among micro cities. 

London, UK — Major cities

The UK’s capital takes the top spot for FDI strategy among the major cities in this year’s ranking. In 2024 up to November, London had more than twice as many inward FDI projects than the second-highest European city, according to data from fDi Markets. Furthermore, in the same period the city created over 10,000 jobs, which aligns with the city’s FDI Strategy, with an emphasis on job creation and sustainable growth. 

London is a hotbed for tech investors. Among others, Coreweave opened its European headquarters in the city in May 2024, citing its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and AI talent as motives. The city’s data centre ecosystem was further strengthened by Microsoft’s decision to invest $1.27bn into a new data centre in the city. 

As part of its FDI strategy, the city focuses on new and innovative technology verticals, such as AI and deep tech. The city is a global hub for life sciences, with a strong academic and clinical research base. 

With four of the top 100 universities for life sciences based in London, a large talent pool exists for companies to invest in. 

Advanced Research Clusters, a subsidiary of Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management, cited London’s academic attainment as a motive for the development of the ARC West London Refinery, a life sciences laboratory. 

Additionally, more than 180 accelerators and incubators bring tech solutions to life in London, such as MedTech SuperConnector and DigitalHealth London. As part of London’s FDI strategy, the city’s agency, London & Partners, strives to support local start-ups to scale by providing access to these accelerator programmes, with ‘Grow London Global’ helping businesses to expand internationally. 

Forming an integral part of the ‘golden triangle’ with Oxford and Cambridge, it is fitting that its FDI strategy has a large emphasis on sustainability and tracks green projects across sectors such as renewable energy, waste management and green building technologies.

Porto, Portugal — Large cities

Portugal’s second-largest city has climbed the FDI Strategy rankings 

this year, impressing the judges and winning the FDI Strategy award among European large cities. 

A major hotbed for talent in science, technology, engineering and maths with more than 300 tech start-ups, it is an emerging hub for innovative, digital business in Europe. Software projects dominate investment into the city, with more than half of these investing in research and development. 

Porto continues to build on its clusters in digital and IT services, attracting multinationals such as Dachser and Volkswagen Digital Solutions. 

Additionally, the judges scored investment promotion agency InvestPorto highly for its economic development strategy, establishing itself as a hub for health and life sciences, with the World Health Organization set to establish a centre of excellence in Porto. The first of its kind, focusing on technology, robotics and entrepreneurship in health, this will help to put Portugal at the forefront of technological innovation in health services. 

The judges were also impressed with InvestPorto’s actions to support local start-ups through programmes such as ‘ScaleUp Porto’. This connects start-ups with investors to drive growth and supports international talent relocation through start-up and tech visas. 

Additionally, InvestPorto impressed the judges with its awareness of the city’s challenges as an investment destination and scored highly on its actions to work around this. 

Vilnius, Lithuania — Mid-sized cities

Vilnius was crowned the winner of this year’s FDI Strategy award in the mid-sized cities category. Lithuania is a major fintech hub in the European context and the country has recently put in place a five year fintech strategy (2023–2028) to consolidate its position as a hub in Europe. 

Alongside fintech, Lithuania’s capital is known for cybersecurity, ranked as the EU’s top city for its cybersecurity industry in the StartupBlink Global Ecosystem Index 2024. Often considered a ‘hidden gem’ in Europe, the city is home to three unicorns — among them is Vinted, Europe’s largest online C2C marketplace for second-hand fashion. 

The city’s investment promotion agency, Go Vilnius, impressed judges with its FDI strategy for facilitating access to venture capital, through local funds and the Lithuanian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, alongside Startup Lithuania which plays a key role in attracting capital to the region. 

The judges were also impressed by the city’s dedication to sustainability. For instance, the city uses a prioritisation model to analyse projects for their ‘green criteria’ and ranks inward FDI projects against the eight strategic green technologies identified in the Net Zero Act. 

Basel, Switzerland — Small cities

Switzerland’s third-largest city and most culturally centric city wins this year’s Small Cities category for FDI Strategy.

Basel Area Business & Innovation impressed judges with its investment promotion strategy, building on its strengths as the leading hub for life sciences in Switzerland. The organisation’s investment promotion strategy has a focus on life sciences, with a specific focus on pharma, biotech, healthtech and medtech and has attracted a range of globally renowned companies such as Moderna and BeiGene, and global foundations as the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering moving to our building at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area.

The area impressed the judges with its USP as the only area in Switzerland which offers commercial talent, academic research institutions and lab space within a single ecosystem. The area is home to more than 700 life sciences companies, 1000 research groups and is supported by accelerators such as DayOne, a healthtech and medtech accelerator and BaseLaunch, a biotech accelerator.

The location secured a major investment win in April 2024, with Johnson & Johnson opening a J&J Innovation Hub in the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area. Over the past five years, biotechnology has attracted $635m in capital investment, with US-based Moderna forming a strategic collaboration with Basel-based CDMO Lonza to enable the manufacturing of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Limerick, Ireland — Micro cities

Limerick retains its title in the Micro Cities category this year. 

Last year marked a historic milestone for Limerick, announcing the city’s first budget with a directly elected mayor, ensuring economic development as a focal point for the city. 

With historical expertise in engineering and medical device manufacturing, the city has a highly skilled workforce and, unsurprisingly, many US companies choose Limerick as a destination for their foreign investment. Limerick impressed the judges with its FDI strategy on nurturing and growing a local technology ecosystem, focusing on medtech, film tech and fintech. The city’s survey response highlighted that the city is home to Ireland’s largest film production facility, Troy Studios, and offers a Regional Film Development Uplift, which offers a 35% tax credit, enhancing Limerick’s position in this industry. 

According to its survey response, Limerick prioritises sustainability by focusing on renewables, specifically offshore wind, due to its coastal location. It has put the Limerick Climate Action Plan 2024–2029 in place and is looking to position the Shannon estuary as a renewable energy hub. 

UK-based green-gas company CycleO has announced it will open a new biomethane plant in Limerick, in line with the Irish government’s ambition to generate 5.7 terawatt hours of domestically produced biomethane by 2030.

Winners — Large regions

Greater London maintains its reputation as a magnet for talent

Greater London, UK

The Greater London region takes the title for best European Large Region — defined as those with a population of more than four million. Greater London encompasses the urban area’s 33 local government districts — 32 boroughs plus the City of London.

The region has a reputation for big-ticket investments, attracting more than $29.7bn in FDI over the past five years. Greater London is triumphant in three subcategories — Economic Potential, Business Friendliness and Human Capital and Lifestyle, and comes second for Connectivity, narrowly missing out to North Rhine-Westphalia. The region has been leading in Europe, attracting 1755 inward FDI projects, almost twice as many as any other region in Europe according to data from fDi Markets since January 2020. 

Often described as a ‘talent magnet’, Greater London’s software and IT sector produced nearly twice as many FDI jobs as any other industry over the past five years, with companies such as Google, Accenture and SAP investing in the region. 

London was the top global financial centre of the year, according to the City of London Benchmarking analysis. This was reflected in the capital investment in financial services, with more than $2.4bn invested over the past five years. 

Île-de-France, France

The Paris region (Île-de-France) retains its top-three position, coming in as runner-up in the Large Regions category. The host of the 2024 summer Olympics places second in the Economic Potential, Business Friendliness and Human Capital and Lifestyle subcategories. 

FDI capital pledges in the region have reached their highest level since 2018, with FDI capex reaching $6.13bn between January and November 2024. More than two-fifths of this investment was in the communications sector, with tech giants Microsoft and Amazon Web Services both committing to investing in the region in the form of data centres and cloud infrastructure projects. 

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Retaining its third-place position is the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany. The region ranked highly across several sub-categories — first for Connectivity and within the top five for Economic Potential, Business Friendliness, and Human Capital and Lifestyle. In the five years to November 2024, capital investment into the region reached almost $18.5bn, with communications taking the lion’s share of this investment. 

North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most populous state and covers an area of over 34,000 sq km. Home to the centre of Germany’s main industrial area, the region has attracted the highest number of industrial projects than any other region in Germany over the past five years.

Winners — Mid-sized regions

Stockholm County is the new entrant into the top three

North Holland, Netherlands

North Holland retains its title as Europe’s best Mid-sized Region — a category covering those with a population between 1.5 million and 4 million. It is home to the country’s capital, Amsterdam, which is the largest contributor to the nation’s gross domestic product. North Holland has accounted for almost one-third of the Netherlands’ total capital investment over the past five years, attracting big-ticket projects such as data centre investments from large US multinationals such as Amazon Web Services and Equinix. 

The region ranked first for economic potential, second for Business Friendliness and in the top 10 for Connectivity. 

North Holland has a thriving manufacturing industry, with companies such as Coca-Cola and Siemens operating in the region. 

The Netherlands is the world’s largest exporter of biodiesel and attracted one of the largest investments in biodiesel in Europe in 2024, from UK-based Greenergy. The company has committed to increasing its fuel production by 25% at its biodiesel manufacturing plant in North Holland. 

Berlin Region, Germany

The Berlin region holds onto its second-place position in the Mid-sized Regions category. 

Home to the German capital, the region retains pole position in Human Capital and Lifestyle subcategory and climbs into second for Economic Potential.

The software and IT services sector has driven success in the region, with 277 projects recorded in the past five years. 

Rated in PWC’s top four locations for real estate in Europe in 2024, the Berlin region is often considered an up-and-coming property goldmine. Real estate has dominated FDI in the region, accounting for more than two-fifths of total capital expenditure into the region since 2020. Commercial and institutional building construction made up the lion’s share of this investment, through office buildings and data centre construction. 

Stockholm County, Sweden 

Home of the Swedish capital, the Stockholm region climbs three places in this year’s ranking, reaching a podium finish in the Mid-sized Regions category. The region ranks in the top 10 in four subcategories — Economic Potential, Human Capital and Lifestyle, Connectivity and Business Friendliness. 

FDI capital pledges in the region increased by 186% between 2023 and 2024, with some notable wins. In March 2024, the region attracted a large investment from US-based semiconductor giant, Coherent Corp, which is planning to establish the world’s first capability for 6-inch indium phosphide wafer fabrication — widely used in applications such as optical communications, wearables and AI interconnects — in the region.

Winners — Small regions

The Luxembourg region makes its debut in the top three

Dublin Region, Ireland 

For the eighth consecutive year, the Dublin Region has dominated this category, once again winning fDi’s category for Small Regions of the Future, defined as those with a population of less than 1.5 million. 

Home to Ireland’s capital and largest city, Dublin Region ranked top in both Economic Potential and Business Friendliness, attracting 94 FDI projects across 91 companies in 2024. 

Despite its size, the Dublin region ranked sixth in Europe for the number of jobs created in the past five years. Over the past year (to November), its top FDI sectors included business services, communications, financial services and software and IT. 

Luxembourg Region, Luxembourg

Moving into second place this year was the Luxembourg Region, thanks to its prominent financial centre and pro-business government. 

The region ranked in the top 10 across Economic Potential, Business Friendliness and Connectivity.

The financial services sector has attracted the highest number of projects and capital investment in the region in the past five years, and has created the highest number of jobs. The region’s political and economic stability makes the region a popular destination for companies looking to establish operations in Europe. 

In 2023, the Bank of London announced it would establish its EU headquarters in the region, representing a €200m investment alongside the creation of 300 new jobs. The China Taiping Insurance Group announced a similar strategy, establishing a new EU headquarters in the region in June 2024. 

Prague Region, Czech Republic

The Prague Region retains a top-three finish this year. The region, which encompasses Prague city and a portion of the Central Bohemian Region, has once again impressed with its skilled workforce, ranking first in Human Capital and Lifestyle, third in Business Friendliness and tenth in Connectivity. 

At around 2.8% (as of November), the Prague region has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, according to the Czech Labour Office. According to fDi Markets, last year the region secured its first aerospace project since 2015. 

In March 2024, US-based GE Aviation announced it would invest in its manufacturing facility in Prague, as part of its €64m investment into its manufacturing facilities across Europe, creating 300 new jobs. 

Winners — FDI Strategy (regions)

Île-de-France and Northern Ireland continue to impress

The winners of this year’s regional FDI Strategy awards were chosen by the judging panel after reviewing the submissions of 23 investment promotion agencies responsible for drawing investment into their regions.

The Paris Region (Île-de-France), retains its crown as the top European large region for its FDI strategy. Northern Ireland fought off competition for another year to retain its title as the best European Mid-Sized Region for its investment promotion strategy. Among small regions, Ireland’s South-East Region came on top. 

Île-de-France, France — Large regions

The Paris region continued to impress judges in this year’s rankings, retaining its crown as the best Large Region for its investment promotion strategy. 

Its investment promotion agency, Choose Paris Region, which promotes Île-de-France abroad, has adopted a range of mechanisms to attract and retain talent, focusing on up-and-coming verticals, with sustainable practices at its core. Judges were impressed with the region’s competitive advantages, citing AI, GreenTech and MedTech as strong areas. 

Additionally, judges scored the region highly on its accessible funding opportunities for start-ups. Home to incubators such as Station F and Campus Cyber, the region has a vibrant start-up ecosystem, offering support, mentorship and networking opportunities for investors. 

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the region has hosted multiple high-profile events such as the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games, driving investment in the tourism and hospitality industries, and boosting GDP growth and enhancing its global profile. 

Northern Ireland, UK — Mid-sized regions 

Northern Ireland has once again trumped its competition, winning the FDI Strategy award for Mid-sized Regions for a third consecutive year. The country’s investment promotion agency, Invest NI, works more than 30 global locations, helping companies to discover NI as an investment destination. 

At the heart of Invest NI’s investment promotion strategy is an emphasis on sustainability, launching its own ESG strategy in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, to set its ambitions for 2030, prioritising decarbonisation. This emphasis on renewables is apparent through its inward investment, with Ireland-based Steam BioEnergy committing to extending its biomass plant in Ballymena, in order to increase its throughput to 200,000 tonnes per year, from 40,000 today. 

The judges were impressed by the region’s recent wins, attracting multiple major investments from US-based firms and creating hundreds of local jobs. As the number-one international investment destination for US cybersecurity firms, the region has a reputation for expertise and knowledge in tech development. Additionally, Northern Ireland is the only region globally which boosts tariff-free access to both Great Britain and EU markets, which makes the region more attractive for manufacturing, and gained valuable marks with the judges. 

Ireland South-East Region, Ireland — Small regions 

Ireland South-East has worked its way back up the rankings to gain a podium place yet again, thanks to its continued success in attracting high-quality projects. 

Established in 2014, the Ireland South East Development Office covers the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford, and has developed an ecosystem that nurtures talent development and provides networking opportunities and aftercare support. 

The judges scored the region highly on its recent investment promotion wins and its focus on renewable energy technology. One of the region’s high-growth sectors is financial services cybersecurity, with the region securing an additional 800 jobs in research and development, following an investment from IBM, through its subsidiary Red Hat Software. Medical device manufacturing is another high-growth area for the region, with Integer Holdings Corporation recently opening its $60m expansion project in New Ross, County Wexford. The investment forms part of the company’s European expansion plans.