KQ Liverpool builds international bridges to drive business growth at home and abroad

KQ Liverpool signs up to two international partnerships, creating new opportunities for Liverpool City Region businesses to grow overseas, while helping international companies land and grow in Liverpool.

The Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) innovation district is strengthening its international connections to help businesses grow at home and abroad, while creating new opportunities for inward investment into Liverpool City Region.

Two new collaborations with the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) in Dublin, Ireland, and T-Hub in Hyderabad, India, build on wider international relationships developed by partners across Liverpool City Region and will create reciprocal links between Liverpool and two major international innovation ecosystems.

The Dublin collaboration reflects growing economic and innovation links between Liverpool and Ireland, following the re-establishment of stronger relationships between Liverpool and Dublin and a programme of engagement involving Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Dublin City Council, Enterprise Ireland and other public and private sector partners. These relationships have helped create new opportunities for businesses, universities and innovation organisations on both sides of the Irish Sea, reinforcing long-standing cultural, economic and civic links between the two cities and creating new opportunities for innovation-led growth and international collaboration.

Formally unveiled on 7 October at the GEC's 25th Anniversary Startup to Scale Conference in Dublin, the partnership is one of the first tangible commercial outcomes to emerge the growing Liverpool-Dublin partnership. The relationship builds on connections strengthened through the Joint Liverpool-Manchester Mayoral Mission to Ireland in 2025 and subsequent engagement between innovation, business and academic organisations in both cities.

A subsequent Irish delegation to Liverpool explored a formal landing-pad relationship to help businesses access new markets, build commercial partnerships and accelerate growth, with several GEC founders already looking to expand into the UK. This was further bolstered by a visit from British Ambassador to Ireland Kara Owen CMG today (20th October).

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad x Liverpool Innovation Bridge partnership, facilitated by RICH (Research and Innovation Circle Hyderabad), was formalised last week (13th October) at a ceremonial signing at T-Hub in Hyderabad and will support reciprocal market access between both cities. 

The mission to Hyderabad formed part of a wider Liverpool City Region and Great North delegation to India, with visits to Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where the University of Liverpool officially opened its new campus. 

As part of the collaborations, Sciontec Developments Limited (Sciontec), KQ Liverpool’s spin-out development and operating company, will provide soft landing workspace for eligible businesses from Dublin and Hyderabad looking to explore the UK market, giving them an immediate base in Liverpool and a route into the city region’s wider innovation ecosystem.

The arrangements will work both ways, with businesses based within Sciontec’s innovation community able to access reciprocal soft landing support through GEC in Dublin and T-Hub in Hyderabad, helping them test new markets, make connections and explore opportunities for international growth.

At the heart of the wider support offer is KQ CLICK, KQ Liverpool’s free business support network, which connects ambitious businesses with the people, expertise, facilities and opportunities they need to innovate and grow.

Through KQ CLICK, incoming businesses will be able to access personalised introductions, specialist support and connections into Liverpool’s universities and wider innovation community.

This includes the Academic Support & Knowledge (ASK) initiative, which connects businesses with specialist teams and experts at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, providing initial free access to academic expertise to support research, innovation and growth.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Liverpool City Region has always been an outward-looking place, with a proud history of international trade, innovation and collaboration.

“Building stronger links with global innovation hubs like Dublin and Hyderabad is about turning those connections into real opportunities for our businesses – opening doors to new markets, attracting investment into our region and creating the high-quality jobs that will drive our economy forward.”

Cllr. Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said:

“Liverpool has some brilliant, ambitious businesses and we want to help them access the connections and opportunities they need to grow, both here and internationally. 

“These partnerships demonstrate how the relationships Liverpool has been building with cities such as Dublin and Hyderabad can translate into practical opportunities for businesses, investment and innovation.

“These two new relationships are about opening doors in both directions. We can help Liverpool businesses explore new markets, while giving innovative international companies a strong landing point when they’re looking to enter the UK.”

Colin Sinclair, CEO of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool and Sciontec, said:

“We want to create a two-way pipeline for growth – helping our businesses access international markets while attracting new investment and high-value jobs into the Liverpool City Region.

“Through Sciontec, incoming businesses will have a place to land and plug straight into our innovation community, while our customers can access the same support in Dublin and Hyderabad. Combined with KQ CLICK and ASK, we can connect businesses with our universities, specialist expertise, investors and networks to help them grow.”

Both collaborations support the ambitions of KQ Liverpool’s 2040 Vision – A Blueprint for Growth – including its commitment to international engagement, business growth and inward investment.

The longer-term ambition is to further develop this network of international landing pads to help Liverpool businesses grow globally, while encouraging innovative companies from around the world to land, invest and grow in Liverpool City Region.

These new international links build on KQ Liverpool’s role in promoting the city region’s innovation strengths on the world stage, including Liverpool securing third place in the 2026 European Capital of Innovation Awards and being named a winner of the inaugural United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) City of Innovation Award. 

Together, these achievements reflect Liverpool’s growing international profile and ambition to translate global recognition into new opportunities, investment and business growth for the city region.