Thanks to the efforts of the Agency’s specialists, 10 foreign investors came to Belarus in 2021 and are ready to invest more than $10.4 million in the Republic. What made such results possible? Here we present the highlights of the Agency's annual report.

1. In 2021 investors were most interested in the agricultural industry

In 2021 the Agency got more than 130 requests from foreign businesses regarding opportunities for cooperation in the fields of woodworking, medicine, IT, agriculture, food industry, trade and logistics. Potential investors came from 24 countries.

From ten investors who came to Belarus, 7 legal entities are registered in the field of agriculture, 1 in manufacturing, 1 in information technology and 1 in consulting. Investors were involved from Poland, India, Georgia, the USA and Iran. If we compare the Agency's budget and the declared investment volume, it turns out that for every dollar the state invests in NAIP, there are about 60 dollars of foreign investments in the country's economy.

2. Belarus Investment Forum in Dubai was the biggest event hosted by the Agency in 2021

BIF was held on November 22, 2021 as part of the Global Exhibition “EXPO-2020” on the National Day of the Republic of Belarus. The forum was a platform for business cooperation between representatives of investment funds, large and medium-sized businesses, experts from Belarus and other countries. About 160 people took part in the event.

Such authoritative business figures as Mohammed Dawood Alqais, Managing Director of Vivat Investment Management LLC and Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties PJSC were among the event speakers. Mr. Alabbar is implementing the North Waterfront project in Minsk, which implies a comprehensive development of a part of the capital according to smart city standards. The project cost is estimated at $4 billion and is planned to be completed by 2040.

3. The Agency organized the first closed golf tournament Minsk Golf Invitational 2021 for business representatives

The Agency together with Golf Center LLC with the support of the Belarusian Golf Association brought together representatives of large businesses from the EAEU Member States and Ukraine on the May 27 to 29, 2021.

The event was aimed at promoting the image of the country as a promising investment destination, expanding the network of useful contacts and raising awareness of the Agency's services in the field of consulting and organizational business support.

4. The Agency signed 19 partnership agreements in 2021, what is the highest number for the past ten years

Agreements (memorandums of cooperation) were signed with investment agencies, financial institutions, technology parks and consulting companies from the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation, Japan, Tajikistan, Serbia, the UAE, Korea, and Egypt.

Among the counterparties are such organizations as Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the business association of the Persian Gulf countries EurAsia Gulf and the business association of Japan "BelNihon International".

Agreements with foreign partners make it possible to exchange information and hold joint events - B2B meetings for interested business groups. For example, together with the EurAsia Gulf Association the Agency held a webinar on the cryptocurrency topic in February 2022.

The work with Belarusian partners was also productive. In May-June 2021 the Agency and the consulting company ASER conducted an analysis of companies with foreign capital in Belarus in order to study challenging issues of investment activities in Belarus as well as to assess the relevance of initiatives on the changes in the Belarusian legislation.

5. Agency updated marketing strategy to focus on niche events and multimedia formats

In 2021 the Agency’s approach to working on the Internet was revised: the website was updated, a new visual style was developed, platforms were segmented, and a regular content plan was proposed. As a result, in 2021, the number of followers on LinkedIn increased by 20% and by almost 40% on Instagram in six months. Nevertheless, the Agency's website continues to be the main information and service platform, which was visited by more than 41 000 users.