Invest NI marks two decades by helping to create 125,000 jobs

Since establishing in 2002 the Economic Development Agency for Northern Ireland has provided 66,000 offers of support to almost 15,000 businesses and helped to create 125,000 jobs, with over two thirds of these outside Belfast.

Acknowledging the milestone, Mel Chittock, Invest NI Interim CEO, said: “Our core role has always been to grow the Northern Ireland economy. This has stayed at the forefront of all we have done in the past 20 years.

“Our team has supported many ambitious, innovative businesses, from SMEs to large-scale organisations, and everything in between. Some companies have even been with us on their business journey since the very beginning, and it has been a joy to see each grow and succeed over the years.”

They have offered over £2.5billion of assistance since 2002, and supported companies with tailored advice, webinars, workshops, programmes and property searches.

Over the past two dacades the firm has also helped: Secure almost 300 new inward investment projects; increase Northern Ireland’s business exports by 46%; encourage more innovation, and investment in R&D and companies to grow their teams’ knowledge and expertise through skills development.

This has led to over £12.7billion of investment by companies in our local economy.

“We’ve grown as an organisation too,” Mel continued.

“Our physical presence has increased through our regional offices, and we’ve expanded our global reach through our international offices, to effectively promote Northern Ireland to international businesses.

“As we innovate, grow and look to the future of business, we will support the Department for the Economy’s 10X Economic Vision and its priorities such as green economy, innovation, emerging technologies, and key sectors, with the same commitment and passion as the last 20 years.”

Invest NI’s full range of business support can be explored at investni.com.

Rose Mary Stalker, Invest NI Board chair, added: “Invest NI’s support has impacted a wide range of sectors. Our teams across our regional and international offices have enabled us to help deliver a stronger, regionally balanced economy, and lasting, real and positive change to people’s lives.

“Of course, we haven’t achieved this on our own. We continually worked in partnership with the 11 local councils, academia and business industry, using a collaborative approach to make Northern Ireland a great place for business.

“At a time of global change, we now have the opportunity to build on our success to date and ensure Northern Ireland’s place as one of the most successful small, balanced, sustainable economies in the world.”