Ines Hosts and Moderates SelectUSA Collateral Event on America’s Rising Investment Markets

The SelectUSA Investment Summit remains the premier U.S. event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) and connecting international companies with expansion opportunities across the American market. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the summit has become a major gateway for global founders, investors, and economic development leaders seeking direct access to U.S. business ecosystems, regional partners, and investment opportunities. Since SelectUSA’s launch in 2011, the program has facilitated more than $270 billion in announced client investments across the United States, supporting over 240,000 jobs nationwide. The annual summit itself consistently attracts thousands of attendees from more than 100 international markets, including economic development organizations (EDOs) representing nearly every U.S. state and territory.

Setting the tone for the event, Ines Nasri highlighted the challenges global founders encounter when expanding into the U.S. market. She featured the “For Global Founders” program and how it can help them with international expansion brand positioning, emphasizing a more founder-centered and globally accessible approach to U.S. market entry. The Global Founders program offers practical cross-border guidance, strategic ecosystem building, and helping international entrepreneurs navigate the American business landscape with greater clarity, credibility, and long-term scalability.

As a long-time advocate for global founders entering the U.S. market, Ines Nasri continues to play an active role within the SelectUSA ecosystem through mentorship, speaking engagements, and strategic discussions focused on international expansion. During the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Ines hosted and moderated a highly engaging SelectUSA Collateral Event alongside Guruprasad Sowle as co-moderator. The event was sponsored by World Trade Center Utah and Indus International Research Foundation, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, ecosystem leaders, and international delegates to explore cross-border collaboration and U.S. market opportunities.

SelectUSA Collateral Events are independently organized sessions held around the official summit programming, designed to give international delegates deeper exposure to emerging U.S. markets, industries, and investment ecosystems. These events allow economic development organizations, regional partners, and business leaders to host focused discussions that go beyond the main conference agenda. They provide founders and investors with direct access to localized market insights, regional growth strategies, site selection guidance, and networking opportunities with stakeholders actively supporting foreign direct investment across the United States.

One of this year’s featured sessions, “The U.S. Expansion Accelerator: Unlocking America’s Rising Investment Markets and Opportunities,” generated strong international participation, welcoming representatives from 36 countries and reaching 165 registrations. The discussion focused on a growing trend among international companies: exploring high-growth ecosystems beyond traditional coastal business hubs and taking a closer look at opportunities across the American Heartland and Mountain West.

The session examined why emerging U.S. regions are increasingly attracting international attention for their business-friendly environments, operational scalability, workforce access, lower costs of expansion, and growing innovation ecosystems. As more founders seek practical and sustainable pathways into the U.S. market, these rising investment regions are becoming attractive alternatives to oversaturated metropolitan centers.

Ines and Guruprasad guided the conversation around the real-world challenges and solutions global founders encounter when investing in the United States. Discussions remained practical and direct, covering topics such as regional competitiveness, site selection, market entry strategy, scaling operations, and navigating local business dynamics across different U.S. regions.

Valuable insights were shared by an experienced panel of experts representing economic development, international business expansion, and regional growth strategy. David Carlebach, COO of World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah), discussed the strategic advantages of Utah’s rapidly growing “Silicon Slopes” ecosystem and why the region continues to attract international companies looking for scalable growth opportunities. David Pasquini, International Industry Engagement Manager at the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), shared perspectives on navigating California’s business landscape and the opportunities available for international companies entering the U.S. market. Paige Webster, CEcD (Webster Global Site Selectors), contributed expertise in site selection and economic development strategy, particularly across aerospace, ag-tech, and manufacturing sectors. Jackson Long, MBA, Regional Growth Lead for Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, shared insights into regional economic growth, business clustering, and scaling opportunities in emerging U.S. markets. Their combined perspectives helped attendees better understand how different regions across the United States are positioning themselves as competitive destinations for foreign investment and international expansion.

The strong engagement continued after the formal session concluded, with attendees staying behind to connect with speakers, ask follow-up questions, and discuss how these insights could apply to their own U.S. expansion plans. The level of participation throughout the event reflected growing international demand for practical guidance on navigating the U.S. business environment and identifying regions with long-term growth potential.

As the SelectUSA Investment Summit continues to expand its global reach and economic impact, discussions like these play an increasingly important role in helping international founders better understand where opportunity is growing across the United States and how emerging regions are competing for global investment.

Interested in Expanding into Emerging U.S. Markets?

Connect with Ines and her team to learn how international founders can navigate U.S. market entry, evaluate rising regional ecosystems, and build long-term growth strategies across the United States: 

Learn More About the U.S. Market Expansion Accelerator