Discover what Highlands and Islands offers your business
Your business will be at home in the Highlands and Islands (HIE) region. It’s brimming with commercial opportunity. The region’s buoyant economy and diverse sectors provide a solid foundation for your business to grow in Scotland.
From energy transition, health tech to space, manufacturing to food and drink, HIE offers an excellent ecosystem to take your vision to exciting new places.
Key sectors and opportunities
HIE is a region where innovation meets tradition The region is world famous across so many sectors and is committed to achieving net-zero future, just like all of Scotland. This offers the best conditions for companies in energy transition to thrive. For innovation, you’ll soon find the area also has an emerging technology sector. Here are some of the region's key sectors and opportunities.
Food and drink
The Highlands and Islands' (HIE) food and drink sector is a cornerstone of the regional economy, contributing significantly to Scotland’s £15 billion industry.
Renowned for its purity, sustainability, and traditional craftsmanship, the region is globally recognised for premium whisky and gin distilleries, world-class seafood, high-quality dairy, and unique artisanal products. Highlands and Islands continue to drive innovation and growth in one of Scotland’s most dynamic sectors.
Energy transition
HIE is perfect for your energy transition project to succeed. The region is well suited to floating offshore wind capture and manufacturing and green hydrogen.
Its Green FreePort and European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) are leaders in renewables. EMEC produces hydrogen from tidal energy, operational in Orkney since 2003. ScotWind is a development of up to 28GW of offshore wind projects, with 15 projects off the region’s coasts.
Innovation hubs and centres
The Highlands and Islands host a network of innovation hubs that drive growth across key sectors. The Orkney Research and Innovation Campus (ORIC) support world-leading marine energy research and low-carbon technologies.
In Moray, the Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation (MRCE) modernises rural health services. Fort William’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) provides free access to advanced manufacturing. The Make It Smart Hub offers training and business opportunities.
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Our regional investment partners
Your business will benefit from help from our regional investment partners. They offer tailored support, strategic sector opportunities, and access to incentives, infrastructure, and skilled talent to help you establish and grow your operations.
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Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport
The Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport is a world-leading floating offshore wind manufacturing sector. It also focuses on green hydrogen and will and create a new innovation cluster in life sciences.
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Inverness Campus
At Inverness Campus, your business can access supply chain and collaboration opportunities within life science. It includes those in animal health, medical technologies and remote health.
Want to find out more about investing in Highlands and Islands?
If you need more help on why the Highlands and Islands region might be suitable for your business, our specialist team will be pleased to assist you.