Zoë Harries

Zoë Harries is the Founder of Impact Zones FDI Advisory, specializing in foreign direct investment, special economic zones, investment attraction, location strategy, and the activation of new innovation and startup ecosystems.

She advises governments, investment promotion agencies, economic zones, and developers on how to build competitive investment destinations, activate new ecosystems from the ground up, and attract the international businesses, talent, and capital they need to take hold and grow.

A former Chief Investment Officer for a PIF backed special economic zone project in Jeddah, Zoë brings senior international experience across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and global markets, including establishing investment attraction functions for greenfield economic zones from their earliest stages.

Her work sits at the intersection of capital, talent, and place, exploring why investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses choose one market over another, what it takes to activate a startup or investment ecosystem where none existed before, and how locations create the conditions for businesses and investment to establish, scale, and grow.