While the benefits of high-tech hubs are widely agreed upon – they generate substantial revenues, boost job creation and raise the profile of a location – the formula for creating a successful cluster is far less clear cut, with a multitude of factors, from the quality of local talent to the extent of government assistance, playing a part.

Concerned about an over-reliance on its oil and gas industries, the Trinidad and Tobago government is working to highlight its other strengths to would-be investors, with a particular emphasis being placed on its educated and highly skilled workforce.

While its largest city, Toronto, captures most of the international attention afforded to the Canadian province of Ontario, the investment strategies of three of its smaller cities – Mississauga, Hamilton and Waterloo – show that the area has considerable strength in depth.

The relatively small and quiet Canadian province of Nova Scotia manages to punch above its weight in the investment stakes, thanks in no small part to its economic development agency, which has taken a creative and thorough approach to attracting FDI.

IT company Ciklum began operations with just four people in an office in Kiev. So, asks Michal Kaczmarski, just how did it get from there to the multimillion dollar, multinational operation it is today?