One of the main challenges in investment attraction lies in establishing contact with potential investors. Methods such as cold calls, emails and social media remain essential and direct avenues for reaching investors. However, augmenting these methods by creating additional channels of communication can prove beneficial. This is where the use of multipliers becomes advantageous—organizations or individuals that can connect investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to companies with foreign investment plans while raising awareness of a location through their own challenges. Multipliers come in various forms. The following are examples of common multipliers and how IPAs can leverage them to achieve their objectives.
Industry associations and cluster organizations
These organizations bring together companies operating within the same sector, who typically have common requirements with respect to skills, markets, technology development and other factors. For an IPA targeting specific sectors, these associations provide a vital channel for connecting with the right companies. For instance, an IPA aiming to attract microelectronics companies from Germany might collaborate with Silicon Saxony, one of the largest ICT clusters in Germany and the largest microelectronics cluster in Europe with over 550 member companies. Such a partnership could significantly increase the IPA’s visibility and access to microelectronics target companies in Germany.
Researchers and academics
These include research teams or divisions within universities or research institutions in the target companies’ locations. They often conduct research in collaboration with or on behalf of corporate clients, particularly in research-intensive sectors. For instance, an IPA targeting companies in the broad energy sector in the United States might engage with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado to connect with its across the United States.
Site selection consultants
Site selection consultants specialize in assisting companies with choosing locations and sites for new facilities. Initiating contact with site selectors or organizing a tour of the IPA’s location could be an effective way to increase awareness of your area. Site selection consultants typically need to connect with IPAs to identify suitable sites for their clients and access information, making relationships between IPAs and site selectors mutually beneficial. An example is Locations Decisions, a site selection company and subsidiary of FDI Center, which has experience in selecting locations and sites for almost all types of facilities.
Specialized industry consultants
These consultants offer technical or commercial advice specific to an industry and can influence expansion decisions. Engaging with them can provide access to a potential pool of companies with which the consultants are involved, and whom they might influence regarding expansion decisions and strategies. Collaboration could typically involve inviting them to speak at events or to participate in the IPA’s initiatives, allowing them to get better insight into the country.
Effective engagement
The types of multipliers that an IPA can leverage vary depending on the sector and geographic market it aims to attract companies from. For instance, in research-oriented sectors like pharmaceuticals or artificial intelligence, relevant multipliers would include research organizations and academics.
The key question in engaging with multipliers is “why should they engage with you”? Since their primary interest lies in supporting their members or clients, they will not see an immediate interest in supporting an IPA from another country to promote their location. The challenge for IPAs is therefore to provide a clear value proposition for why the multiplier would benefit from a collaboration. This could include information about market opportunities in your location, specific research or commercial opportunities, or the potential for partnering with companies and research institutes from your location.
Effective engagement involves strategic collaboration and a well-defined approach to optimally leverage the multiplier’s network. This could involve active collaboration in events or program creation. For instance, the Greater Geneva Bern area (GGBa), the official investment promotion agency for Western Switzerland, recently announced that it is organizing a webinar in partnership with Spectaris, a German industrial association representing companies in the high-tech sectors of optics, photonics, analysis, and medical technology in Germany. The webinar will provide an overview of the market opportunities and framework conditions for German medical technology manufacturers in Switzerland. This event presents an excellent opportunity for the IPA to invite and inform companies from the cluster about expanding into their region.
IPAs could also offer multipliers a compelling value proposition by involving local stakeholders. This could include the location’s own industry clusters to facilitate exchanges of opportunities between local and international clusters and aid companies looking to import or export, or local research organizations to foster partnerships for research and innovation.
While multipliers are a valuable resource for IPAs, it is important to note that they do not replace direct contact with companies. Contacting potential target investors directly should always be the priority for IPAs, with multipliers seen as an additional channel that the IPA can use to augment its targeting activities.
