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SINEWS

‘If you have a great idea, you can get funding here’

SI News heads to STHLM TECH FEST, Stockholm's annual tech sector meet up, to learn more about what makes the country such a hub of innovation.

Published: 7 September 2017 13:41 CEST
'If you have a great idea, you can get funding here'
The opening scene at STHLM TECH FEST. Photo: SI News

Sweden is an innovation powerhouse. It has been ranked the most innovative country in Europe for the third year in a row, and is the second most innovative in the world according to the Global Innovation Index, having been in the top three since 2008.

It has been voted the best country for business for 2017, is home to established tech companies such as Spotify, Klarna, Mojang, Truecaller, and King, and has attracted global giants like Google and Amazon. It is no surprise, then, that the Swedish capital, Stockholm, is considered the second best place in Europe for startups.

To learn more, SI News Service went to the 2017 STHLM TECH FEST, the premier mix and mingle event of Stockholm’s startup scene, to check out the conversations at the forefront of technological innovation in Sweden and beyond.

Industry leaders had plenty to say about innovation in Sweden today, and the consensus was there is a great environment for growth in the tech sector.

“There is a lot of infrastructure which helps start-ups strive here, and also helps big and small companies work together,” said Sandor Albrecht, Research Director at Ericsson and Head of Ericsson Garage.

A helping hand

Cooperation and dialogue between big and small companies is something quite important in Sweden as well.

The openness and willingness of established industry giants to support and cooperate with newcomers to the scene is one of the drivers of Swedish innovation.

Albrecht highlighted the importance of “having the right conversations with the startups”,

Meanwhile, Ada Nilsson, from the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten), added the events like TECH FEST – held annually in September in the Swedish capital – were key “to being in touch with new innovations, networking, and to let everyone know what we do and how we can help.”

Mackenzie Kozut, Global Startup Evangelist at Amazon Web Services talks about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Photo: SI News

This helping hand that big corporations and organisations lend to startups is, in many cases, money.

Funding is essential for development, and Sweden knows it.

The Swedish Energy Agency has special funding programmes, as Nilsson explained: “a lot of our resources go to research and development, but we also have a special fund for new innovations in the sector”.

Commercialising new ideas

This special fund has helped 85 companies in the sector so far, providing support totalling 684 million kronor so far – an average of 8 million kronor per company. It’s part of a strategy to help not only foster innovative ideas but to actually commercialise them.

The Swedish Energy Agency is not alone in this.

There are many organised funds concerned with long-term innovation in Sweden, including established networks connecting organisations, businesses, and academic institutions that foster research and development in many different areas.

Some of these networks include the Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen), fostering the bonds between academia and industry and stimulating Swedish competitiveness; the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), which focuses on natural sciences, engineering and medicine; the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova), with a focus on information and communication technology (ICT), biotechnology, materials, transportation, production, and working life; and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), fostering sustainable and competitive businesses across Sweden.

The Swedish government also helps – a lot. Sweden’s investment in research and development have been consistently over 3 percent since 1997; for comparison, the EU average for R&D expenditure is just over 2 percent of GDP, and its goal is to increase investments to 3 percent of GDP by 2020.

'Believe in yourself'

Sweden is way ahead of the curve. And in a country so committed to fostering innovation and development, business is booming: last year alone, Swedish start-ups attracted $1.4 billion in growth capital, the highest amount ever in the country.

Ari Järvelä, Head of data-driven businesses at Tieto highlighted that, “Sweden is doing fantastically. There is a fantastic Fintech start-up scene, as well as established companies on a global scale. There is a lot of good stuff happening in Sweden.”

He highlighted Fintech and healthcare as great innovation sectors in the country.

When asked to deliver words of welcome to NFGL members, the message was loud and clear:

“Come here, it’s a very open environment, they welcome everybody. It doesn’t matter where you come from, if you have a great idea, you can get funding here,” said Albrecht.

“Believe in yourself,” said Järvelä. “Nowadays, if you have a good tech idea, there are so many companies or universities that are more than willing to collaborate with you. So contact us and surely we can help each other”.

SINEWS

Lagom: The best way to achieve social health?

Ronoh Philip, who is studying for his masters degree in Infectious Disease Control at Södertörn University, explains why he thinks the Swedish concept of 'lagom' is the best way to achieve good social health.

Published: 23 December 2019 10:24 CET
Lagom: The best way to achieve social health?

During my one week orientation program on August 2019 at Södertörn University, we were presented with many aspects of Swedish culture and practices. One of the new aspects that I learnt was the “lagom culture”, As I quote one of the presenters about applying lagom to our studies, he said: ”Lagom will reduce your stressful burdens of hectic lecture schedules and ensure that you spend equal time of working and socializing in the university.”

So being a student with a background in public health and society, I got interested and searched for the deeper meaning of lagom, and how it can  apply to society and health. I found out that it is a Swedish way of life, it is a concept which means not too much and not too little, just enough. I learnt that it came from a Viking tradition laget om which means 'around the group' and was allegedly used to describe just how much mead or soup one should drink when passing the bowl around in the group.

If this concept is applied to achieve social health goals, it would really fit well. So, what is social health at first? Social health is how you interact with other people and adapt in different situations, it deals with how people in society deal with each other. It is important to note that there is a close link between good social health and improvement of the other aspects of human health, this can lead to the achievement of SDG goal of good health and wellbeing. It also leads to self-satisfaction and happiness; no wonder Sweden is ranked as one the happiest countries in the world. It is ranked 7th in 2019, according to world happiness report. I believe lagom has a big role in this achievement.

In the country where I come from, Kenya, one of the greatest challenges we face in our society, is the ability for people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds to interact and form positive and cohesive relationships with each other. From my perspective, when I finish my studies and return, lagom will be worth implementing in the workplace, the place where I live and the society as whole, as it is the best way of finding simple, attainable solutions to our everyday worries like stress, eating better, having downtime and achieving happiness. It’s a balance of work and life, so everything is in sustainable existence with each other.

My goal during my entire university studies at Södertörn, will be to learn more about the lagom principle and also be able to apply it on our SI NFGL Local Network platform, because it is surely one of the best ways to achieve a good  work-life balance, reaching consensus with my colleagues and adapting a team minded approach in dealing with issues in an organization and the society.