Dawn McLaughlin explains how the north-west’s reputation as a prime location for foreign direct investment has been sixty years in the making.

Sixty years ago, the US industrial fibre giant, DuPont, established a base on the outskirts of Derry/Londonderry. At the time, few international corporations were based in Northern Ireland, and very few would have considered this part of the world when choosing where to invest. DuPont’s decision was not only courageous but helped kick-start and sustain economic growth and development for nearly half a century.

The company remained in the region throughout the dark days of the Troubles, sustaining jobs and keeping families in work at a time when our economy was underdeveloped and primitive in many respects. For 30 years, the company put the city at the cutting edge of innovation and technology by producing Kevlar, one of the world’s most important materials, at the site.

As important as the jobs were to thousands of local working-class families, DuPont’s presence was almost more important for its role in attracting other global companies to the region. DuPont became an ambassador for the north-west and strengthened its status as a region well-equipped for foreign direct investment (FDI), with its low-cost structure, strong talent pool and high standard of living. Other American and European companies were encouraged by DuPont’s positive experience in the north-west and saw Northern Ireland as a viable and strategic place to invest.

FDI has been a significant driver of the North-West City Region’s economic growth over the past three or four decades. The late John Hume’s role in bringing Seagate to the city is well-known, and it has gone on to be an integral part of the local economy. By the company’s 20th anniversary in the city in 2013, it had invested over £720 million in the region, contributed nearly £50 million in annual wages, and boomed to become the city’s largest employer with a workforce of almost 1,400. To this day, Seagate remains one of the region’s most important organisations.

US tech giant and insurance company, Allstate, was one of the first foreign companies to invest in Northern Ireland after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Starting with an initial staff of just 20 in Derry, the firm has blossomed into one of the north-west’s most recognisable employers and has spread further into the region with its Strabane office. Taking a leap of faith like Allstate’s is a brave one for a business, but one that has generated great gains for both the company and the community.

With more and more companies choosing to invest in the north-west, the economy has diversified and matured. We now have a cluster of cutting-edge and exciting tech, fintech, health and life-sciences, artificial intelligence, and diagnostics firms. The Derry and Strabane City Deal is a once-in-a-lifetime capital investment package, which will help attract even more companies and nurture this ecosystem of innovation, research and development, and technology.

Inward investment and FDI have played a key role in our local economy over the past sixty years and will continue to do so. As we emerge from the pandemic, partners within the city will be working hard to attract more investment, jobs, start-ups, and business. Thanks largely to the courageous decisions of companies like DuPont to come to the north-west all those years ago, this region now has a diverse and innovative economy and is an ideal location for FDI.

Dawn McLaughlin FCA is Founder of Dawn McLaughlin & Co. Chartered Accountants and President of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce.