Smartzer.

Smartzer was established in London in 2012 by founder Karoline Gross and provides shoppable video technology, allowing viewers to click on items within videos and make instant purchases. The company is currently focussed on online fashion in the retail sector.

The company had several years of growth in revenue, designing bespoke shoppable video for clients in the UK, France, Canada, Germany and Italy. The strategic decision was then taken to expand their offering by developing a new selfservice based Software as a Service (SaaS) product. There was therefore a need to grow their development team.

The company explored a number of options including expanding their existing London office or setting up a new office in the North of England. However, with the support of Invest NI, Northern Ireland was quickly identified as the ideal location for this project.

Northern Ireland was chosen for the 16 job operation because:

• Northern Ireland has a strong supply of suitable graduates who have excellent technical and professional qualifications and a flexible approach.
• Belfast was more cost effective than the other UK options.
• Northern Ireland has good infrastructure with high speed connectivity.