Trade and Investment Promotion

Business France is the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses, as well as promoting and facilitating international investment in France.

Basic information:

• headquarters in Paris
• 87 offices in the world
• 124 countries
• Chairman of the Board: Pascal Cagni
• CEO: Christophe Lecourtier
• Created on 1 January 2015 through a merger between UBIFRANCE and the French Agency for International Investment (InvestInFrance).

In 2019, France was the leading host country for foreign investment in Europe according to EY.

France attracted 1,468 new foreign investment decisions in 2019, an 11% increase since 2018. Jobs created or maintained by foreign subsidiary investments also picked up significantly, growing by 30% to 39,542 jobs created and 4,778 jobs maintained in 2019

As an operational unit of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, NFIA helps and advises foreign companies in the various stages of establishing, rolling out and expanding their international activities in the Netherlands.

Basic information:

• headquarters in Hague
• 29 offices in the world
• Departing Commissioner: Jeroen Nijland
• Established in 1978: For more than 40 years, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) has served as a one-stop-shop for successful European expansion.

In 2019, the NFIA and its regional partners helped 397 international companies to the Netherlands. These companies expect to create more than 14,000 direct jobs and invest 4.3 billion euros in their first three years in the Netherlands.

Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) is the official Swiss organization for export and investment promotion with offices throughout Switzerland and in 31 countries.

Basic information:

• headquarters in Zurich
• offices in 31 countries worldwide
• CEO: Simone Wyss Fedele
• Established in 1927: The Swiss Confederation (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO) has been mandating S-GE to promote exports since 1927, and SECO and all cantons have been mandating S-GE to promote Switzerland as a business location since 2008.
• Formerly known as: OSCE

Since 2016, S-GE has in particular been promoting the export of Swiss cleantech solutions on behalf of SECO and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). After three pilot years (2017-2019), the marketing of Switzerland Innovation has been integrated into the investment promotion mandate.

#1 most innovative country in the world (Global Innovation Index 2019, INSEAD/WIPO)

Germany Trade & Invest is the economic development agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. With more than 50 offices in Germany and abroad, and its network of partners throughout the world, GTAI supports German companies setting up in foreign markets, promotes Germany as a business location and assists foreign companies setting up in Germany.

Basic information:

• headquarters in Berlin
• 50 offices in the world
• Chair of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Ulrich Nussbaum, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
• Established in 2009 Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) was established in 2009 as part of a merger between “Invest in Germany GmbH” and the “German Office for Foreign Trade” (BfAI). The Federal Republic of Germany is the sole shareholder and is represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Germany ranks among the top ten in the world as a recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) ,according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Source: Germany Trade & Invest

Business Sweden is commissioned by the Government and the Swedish industry to help Swedish companies grow global sales and international companies invest and expand in Sweden.Business Sweden is owned in equal shares by the state of Sweden and the Swedish business sector. The state is represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utrikesdepartementet, UD) and the business sector by the Swedish Foreign Trade Association (Sveriges Allmänna Utrikeshandelsförening, SAU).

Basic information:

• headquarters in Stockholm
• 44 offices in countries worldwide
• President and CEO: YLVA BERG
• More than 45 years of experience

Foreign direct investments in Sweden amounted to SEK 187 billion in 2019 which is a five-fold increase from 2018. This was the highest recorded level since 2008 and well above the average during 2000–2019. The fact that around 200 corporate deals involving foreign investors were concluded in 2019 contributed to the increase.