Derry and Donegal must work together to win investment in broadband technology or the north-west could become one of the casualties of the digital divide, one of the region's most senior businessmen has warned.

Dr Alan McClure, president of the Derry Chamber of Commerce and worldwide president of Perfecseal, a medical packaging division of the Bemis Corporation, believes the region could be losing out because inward investment tends to cluster around Belfast and Dublin.

Addressing the 45th annual Derry Chamber of Commerce banquet last night, Dr McClure said broadband access in the north-west would make the region more attractive to new investors. "There is a growing digital divide between urban and rural communities and broadband Internet access is essential if smaller firms are to use the Internet as a marketing and productivity tool," Dr McClure said.

He added it was now vital that the north-west work together to harness investment in broadband from both the Department of Public Enterprise in the South and the North's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Dr McClure believes there is a strong argument for more private sector-led initiatives on both sides of the Border to improve the region's potential as an investment location.

"Here in the north-west, it is the job of business to find ways of fostering trade and commerce between Northern Ireland and the Republic to the mutual benefit of employers, workers and communities," he added.

But Dr McClure also believes that Derry must now look outside Northern Ireland for inspiration if it is to develop as a leading regional centre.

"Investment goes where it is welcome and where it is profitable, but we must accept that investment has choices. We need to identify those regions that are winning investment and jobs and learn the lessons of their success," he said.