Power Breakfast: Global Advantage - How strategic foreign investment can transform local economies
By Stephanie Meador, posted Mar 4, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com
This morning, we gathered with local decision makers, elected officials, business leaders and community members for Power Breakfast: Global Advantage.
The speaker for the event was Andreas Dressler. Dressler has been active in foreign direct investment (FDI) for 29 years. He is the founder of FDI Center, an advisory company that works with countries, regions, cities and industrial parks to implement investment promotion strategies and attract new investment.
FDI is a powerful driver of jobs, wages and long‑term economic growth. Communities must be clear about why they want foreign investment and what kinds of projects best align with their economic goals.
Dressler traced FDI’s trajectory: explosive global growth in the 1990s as markets opened in China, Eastern Europe, and the BRICS countries, followed by slower growth and, over the last 15 years, overall stagnation. While total FDI remains high, the market is no longer expanding.
Layered onto this is rising global uncertainty – economic slowdown, geopolitical conflicts, energy and inflation concerns, talent constraints and shifting trade policies, including tariffs. These factors are making firms more cautious about major long‑term investments, even as governments, including the current U.S. administration, strongly promote FDI.
“Sometimes there’s this belief that results can be achieved in the short term. That’s a mistake. FDI attraction is a long-term game,” shared Dressler.
Dressler turned to how communities can realistically compete for FDI in today’s crowded marketplace. He noted that nearly every country on earth – and thousands of states, regions, cities, ports and free zones – now has some form of investment promotion agency.
“There is no other market in the world where there are 1000s and 1000s of products promoting themselves to the same group of corporate decision makers, very often using the same arguments and the same reasons why these companies should invest,” remarked Dressler.
To stand out, communities must do more than simply declare themselves “open for business.” Dressler explained that companies are highly selective and look first for hard factors: suitable sites or buildings, reliable and affordable energy, strong infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce. In many current projects, especially in energy-intensive industries, the availability and reliability of power has become the single most important decision driver.
Dressler emphasized that successful FDI attraction is fundamentally a team sport. Economic development organizations, utilities, local governments, educational institutions and private-sector leaders all need to be aligned around a shared strategy.
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