Manchester is now rated as a national leader in multiple digital industries, but there’s always the potential to take this to a European or global scale.
Here are some of the biggest digital industries that Manchester could play a major role in.
Casino
Compared to some cities, Manchester has a relatively high number of traditional casinos with no less than two Grosvenor locations within city limits.
While those are growing strong, the online side of casino has been growing in leaps and bounds with a global industry worth billions.
It’s an industry on the rise with a lot of potential still under the surface.
Source: Unsplash
Aside from the casino sites themselves, there are also a huge number of supporting businesses. For example, there are a number of large review sites like Kingcasinobonus that provide information on both sites and their offers, plus specialised recruitment services.
As a purely online business, there are plenty of ways for Manchester businesses to invest, including an app development side that has a breakneck pace compared to other sectors.
Fintech
People have been putting more and more emphasis onto how they are saving and using their money in recent years, and the financial technology sector has been there with solutions at every step.
While London naturally remains the fintech juggernaut in the UK thanks to hundreds of years of establishment, Manchester is the fastest growing fintech market outside of that.
There is already something of a global fintech presence in Manchester, with companies like Adyen taking up residence alongside scores of local brands like AccessPay and Raisin.
The next step would be to help a homegrown business become a global name, something that could be achieved with focused investment.
After all, there’s a big difference between hosting the best and brightest and being able to claim you created them in the first place.
AI
No matter where you turn in the digital world, there is no escaping the topic of AI at the moment.
Artificial intelligence looks set to completely overhaul dozens of major industries, and naturally, there is a rush to be a driving force behind it as an industry.
On this front, Manchester looks well-placed already to play a big part, and investment started much earlier than in many cities around the world.
Projects like the AI Foundry, a collaboration between multiple academic institutions in the region, have been raising awareness and promoting development in AI for a decade at this point.
It has attracted local, national and even European investment, meaning Manchester has a significant leg-up when competing with other regions.
A more established base also means a more attractive prospect for new commercial ventures around AI, and we could see the city becoming a true AI industry hub if we take the right steps.
Manchester has always been a powerful city of industry.
Just because that industry is now behind a keyboard doesn’t change anything.
Featured image: William McCue on Unsplash
