Manchester has positioned itself as a key destination for foreign direct investment after hosting a delegation of FinTech companies from the Baltic and Nordic regions.
Manchester’s inward investment agency MIDAS met 19 businesses from countries including Estonia, Latvia, Norway and Denmark.
MIDAS worked in conjunction with the Department for International Trade’ Northern Powerhouse team and Whitecap Consulting to facilitate the programme which promoted the city-region’s FinTech cluster.
Part of the day involved a Dragon’s Den-style event where the FinTech companies pitched to a number of banks and investors at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Spinningfields.
A MIDAS spokesperson, said: “In early 2017 we attended Money 2020 in Copenhagen, one of Europe’s largest FinTech and financial services conferences, and have since been working with the Department for International Trade to bring this delegation to Manchester.
“Manchester is a key destination for international trade and investment. We are home to many large global firms such as BNY Mellon, Barclays, RBS and World Pay and challenger banks such as OakNorth and Aldermore.”
There are more than 324,000 employees within financial and professional services in the city region.
The MIDAS spokesperson added: “By taking our guests on an exclusive tour around the city including The Vault, an innovative hybrid workspace environment for the city’s emerging FinTech community, we were able to showcase part of our diverse and competitive ecosystem.”