With seventy per cent of all jobs created by foreign investors occurring years after the new company has landed in the host economy, the need for a long term perspective stands strong. Despite these significant figures, helping international companies grow is an industry that has rarely received sufficient attention. There is little research on this subject, even less training material and only a few frameworks to guide the work of professionals in the field. Locations are left to their own to figure out how to serve the needs of growing companies.

Current international development put the limelight on aftercare: increasing protectionism on one side drives locations to “work with what they have” and seek to retain the investors already established in their territories. Globalisation on the other hand increases the number of cross-border investment activities; there are existing foreign investors in virtually every city worldwide. In addition, there is an emerging trend of multinationals to reach out to the public sector of the countries they operate to develop partnerships of size and scale not seen before.

Whilst a few developed economies have put highly complex systems to maximise corporate growth in place, the majority of locations lack expertise. It is no surprise that those locations that are better equipped are securing the biggest share of reinvestment. The natural consequent is the emergence of an “aftercare divide “ with less equipped locations left behind.

Long-term foreign direct investment dividends – i.e. the broader development benefits that results from decade-long investment – is an area that if left unattended can impose significant invisible costs on both business and locations and give space for disenfranchisement sentiment to grow. In many instances, foreign investors have created jobs, boosted growth and provided opportunities. Yet there is still space to maximise their imprint in the host economy, to make it more sustainable and to better distribute the aftercare dividend. For foreign direct investment to become a driver of societal betterment, it is critical to revisit how we create value and how locations and their corresponding policy frameworks can adapt to the imminent opportunities and challenges that evolving business environments, industry 4.0 and demographic changes bring.

By neglecting aftercare, locations not only miss out on new jobs created by reinvestment, they disregard the positive externalities business can bring to their locations.  As a result, they unconsciously impoverish the communities they serve. Correcting this oversight should become a priority for the FDI industry. “Aftercare Explained” is the first book to address the why, what and how of aftercare and with practical examples of success cases, is an invitation to address that gap.

“Aftercare Explained” is scheduled to be released in December 2017 and is certain to become the most definitive guide to FDI retention for years to come.

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