From One Desk to a City’s Front Door:
Invest in Aalborg Turns 10
Ten years ago, Invest in Aalborg was less a “unit” and more a single person with a phone, a laptop, and a stubborn belief that Aalborg deserved a bigger place on the global map.
It marked the beginning of a systematic effort in investment promotion: making Aalborg relevant, understandable, and credible for companies choosing a location for their business.
Today, ten years later, investment promotion operates in a very different reality. Geopolitics, supply chain security, talent, technology, and trust all play a decisive role - and competition is global.
Invest in Aalborg is Aalborg Municipality’s dedicated investment promotion unit. The team works to attract larger Danish and international companies to the municipality, create jobs, and strengthen Aalborg’s business ecosystem - particularly within key areas such as energy, satellite technology, and health technology.
The story of Invest in Aalborg begins with Catharina Vinther Engqvist.
One point of contact – literally
When Invest in Aalborg was established in 2016, it began as a one-woman operation led by Catharina Vinther Engqvist. The idea was simple but ambitious: make Aalborg easier to choose for international companies and investors.
In practice, that meant serving as companies’ one point of contact to Aalborg. Being the person who opens doors to relevant networks, supports business cases with facts and connections, and translates Aalborg’s strengths into something an international company can make decisions based on.
- “Before Invest in Aalborg was born, the municipality had received international enquiries and they simply didn’t have the functions, resources, or experience to handle them.”
At the same time, Aalborg was at a strategic turning point.
- “The shipyard industry was gone, the mobile industry was in decline. So the question wasn’t just how to handle enquiries, but what the next chapter for the city should be”
Outreach. Meetings. Hosting. Pitch decks. Data and documentation. Relationships. Follow-up.
- “In the beginning, it was just me, and I found it incredibly exciting. It was unexplored territory. How do you operate in a landscape without a manual? That is actually still what motivates me today.”
The Aalborg model: partnership before it became a team
Historically, the effort was rooted in a close partnership between Port of Aalborg, NOVI Science Park, Aalborg University, and Aalborg Municipality. This collaboration laid the foundation for how Invest in Aalborg works today.
In 2021, the initiative was formally anchored within Aalborg Municipality, accompanied by a significant budget increase. This was not a break with the partnership model, but a recognition that investment promotion had become a strategic core task - requiring a clear mandate, long-term funding, and political backing.
Collaboration with the city’s key stakeholders continued, now supported by stronger organisational backing and greater international reach.
Strength positions and focus as a prerequisite
A central element of Invest in Aalborg’s work has been the insistence on focus, even when that means saying no.
- “Aalborg doesn’t win by trying to be everything to everyone. Our task is to be sharp about what the city can deliver at world-class level, and to prioritise accordingly.”
Head of Foreign Direct Investment, Catharina Vinther Engqvist - Invest in Aalborg
This has meant a strategic focus on areas where Aalborg already has strong foundations, and where collaboration between research, business, and public actors can be activated quickly and credibly.
- “Nine times out of ten, it’s not the land or the price that makes the only deciding factors. It’s the ecosystem, the people, and the softer values that often tips the decision.”
In practice, Invest in Aalborg’s work is less about presenting a catalogue of opportunities and more about clarifying the city’s strengths - and assessing whether they are the right match for each company.
Ambassadors as a competitive advantage
One distinctive development has been the work with ambassadors and business profiles who voluntarily use their voice to put Aalborg on the international map.
- “The ambassador network is built on personal relationships, not titles or companies. These are people who genuinely want to help and who have international credibility. I started by asking 15 amazing business profiles and hoped five would say yes. That everyone said yes made me both proud and humble and confirmed that there is a strong culture of support in Aalborg.”
Today, the ambassador corps consists of 24 business profiles who share one thing above all: a strong commitment to Aalborg.
The first ten years and the next
After ten years, Invest in Aalborg is no longer one desk. It is an integrated front door to Aalborg - an effort that connects business, municipality, research, and international networks.
Catharina Vinther Engqvist is now team leader of Invest in Aalborg, heading an ambitious team with diverse competencies.
Over the years, Invest in Aalborg has handled more than 1,000 investment cases. These range from fast-moving enquiries, where timing and decisive action are crucial, to complex projects that require long-term planning, coordination, and significant resources.
The work also includes strategic initiatives that may not involve a specific investor in the short term, but which strengthen Aalborg’s business ecosystem and create the foundation for future investments.
“After ten years, it’s still the most exciting job I can imagine, because you constantly work in the space between the unknown and the possible.”
As the world has become more uncertain and competition for investment has intensified, investment promotion has also become more complex. Experience shows that clear priorities and credibility in responses are crucial - even when that means not every project is the right match for Aalborg.
“We shouldn’t compete on volume. We should compete on relevance,” says Catharina.
“And we must be able to stand by what we promise, also ten years from now.”
Congratulations to Invest in Aalborg on its 10-year anniversary.
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Meet Catharina Vinter Engqvist
Head of Foreign Direct Investments, Invest in Aalborg
Catharina and the team at Invest in Aalborg are your one-point-of contact to the City of Aalborg. We can help you with information, facts and network that make all the difference when you consider Aalborg as your business destination.
Let's help you build your business case.