With increasing demand for IT storage, the data centre industry is growing fast and seeking out locations in cold climates that offer cheap, renewable energy and a reliable power supply – all attributes northern Europe possesses in abundance.

With its two closest neighbours on the brink of war and its largest economic partner suffering a downturn, Belarus has found itself in a delicate situation over the past 14 months. Government officials in Minsk tell Courtney Fingar how the country intends to navigate its difficult new path.

Global business process outsourcing is going from strength to strength, and while developed countries have dominated as sources of investment, developing countries are also starting to emerge.  

The southern European countries of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are emerging from a period of uncertainty and have a lot to offer investors, writes Sofia Karadima, but levels of success in attracting FDI vary. 

After more than a century in business, Ursus, a Polish agricultural machinery manufacturer, was on its last legs in 2011. Chief executive Karol Zarajczyk tells Michal Kaczmarski how his company went from nearly perishing to selling a $90m contract. 

A host of new developments are promising to transform the Polish city of Lodz, which has been struggling to emerge from the shadow of its textiles manufacturing past.