Source: Combined Authorities (England)
Author: Andy Hague
Date published: 2025-09-24
[original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end]
In partnership with Birmingham Tech Week.
In the age of acceleration where transformational change is driven by rapid technological advancements, the West Midlands has been quietly but confidently establishing itself as one of Europe’s most promising innovation hubs.
The UK is currently facing a broader slowdown in foreign direct investment (FDI) – a 12% decrease in project numbers between 2024 and 2025, according to EY – but the West Midlands has bucked the trend.
Last year, the region attracted 86 inward investment projects, outperforming major European cities and ranking among the continent’s top 20 regions for FDI performance. These are clear signs of a region where tech can thrive and business can grow.
It would be easy to attribute this success exclusively to Birmingham but the truth is this innovation ecosystem spans the entire West Midlands.
From Coventry’s leadership in future mobility and Wolverhampton’s advanced manufacturing capabilities to Solihull’s low-carbon advances, the West Midlands is the UK’s fastest-growing tech sector, offering a diverse and interconnected landscape for growth.
Further cementing its status is the presence of over 100 collaborative tech hubs, four Innovate UK Catapult Centres, and nine leading universities attracting students from all over the globe.
The regional spread is the result of the West Midlands Plan for Growth initiative, which focuses on high potential economic clusters, rather than broad sectors.
Designed to scale innovation and attract global business partnerships, these clusters are interconnected networks made up of talent, businesses, and institutions from across the region.
Whether a med tech founder is looking for clinical trial support, or a quantum computing start-up is seeking academic collaborations, the West Midlands offers the infrastructure and networks to make it happen.
But what truly makes the West Midlands a region worth investing in is its heritage. Innovation is in its DNA – after all, this is the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
And today this legacy is being revived and reimagined through the proliferation of gigafactories, groundbreaking transport systems, 5G-powered technologies, and EV battery manufacturing facilities.
What we’re also seeing is a surge in grassroots innovation. Thanks to a project backed by Mayor Richard Parker and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in June 2025, creative freelancers and SMEs across the region now have access to £10,000 of funding to develop innovative ideas through collaborative Research and Development (R&D).
Initiatives like this and events such as Birmingham Tech Week, which brings together global investors and local founders to explore the region’s emerging trends and opportunities, tie in with the region’s ambitions to become a flourishing creative ecosystem by 2030.
In a time when FDI is getting increasingly selective, it would be a missed opportunity for business leaders in Europe, the US, the UAE, India, and beyond to think of the West Midlands as merely a landing pad, when it’s actually a launchpad for ambitious projects that scale new heights.
With a proven track record in attracting global investment, a collaborative tech ecosystem, and a forward-looking industrial base, the West Midlands has both innovation and momentum in its favour. This is a region that’s not embracing the future – it’s engineering it.
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The West Midlands: the best kept secret in the global tech industry