Small and Medium Sized industries and services thrive in the region – 99% of all companies have less than 50 staff members.
With the local open attitude towards new technology and innovation, the area can provide good environment for creative staff, with superior strength when linking to the Arctic region; The University of the Arctic is a high-level network of universities established in strong partnership with the University of Akureyri.
Nationwide access to professional research journals is available (linked to Iceland IP numbers), providing small research companies with added advantage (hvar.is).
The availability of green power at a very lucrative price may provide several opportunities for activities requiring small carbon footprint, such as data centres, new material production and various specialized products.
The nature is attractive for tourism, both on land and sea, which is ideal for recreational activities including tailor made adventures or even full scale motion picture production. Some of the most unforgettable scenes from movies such as Oblivion and Prometheus or TV-shows like Game of Thrones and Trapped were filmed in Northeast Iceland. Film and TV show music has also been created in the Northeast, most notably at SinfoniaNord.
Recently, creative activity was assessed in Northeast Iceland, providing both added economic value and and a positive social impact. See also their report.