Digital ERFA: Soft Landing – how do we increase the inflow of companies and expertise to the Swedish innovation system?

International flows are one of the most important factors for a world-class innovation system. And we are talking both about getting startups to seek out international markets but also about getting exciting companies to Sweden. Sending companies to Silicon Valley and then never coming back feels more and more like a dated strategy. Now is the time to look at how we can become even better at attracting expertise and companies to Sweden. Especially since several studies show that Sweden has lost in internationalisation after the pandemic. We know that there are lots of initiatives among your members around this. How is it going? What lessons have been learnt? And how does it work with different markets and cultures?

Here are some examples (feel free to attend the meeting and share your own):

Anna Mård, CEO of Skellefteå Science Park, will talk about a project that seeks to attract companies from Silicon Valley to establish themselves in northern Sweden, linked to the green transition. By creating a structured soft-landing programme, the project aims to attract international small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and scaleups that can contribute with new solutions and innovations. The platform offers not only support in the establishment process but also access to testbeds and networks that can accelerate the companies’ growth journey. Skellefteå SP has previously run a pilot during the spring of 2024 and has now received a new project for one year (funding from Vinnova). Skellefteå Science City is the project owner and partners are Piteå Science Park and Luleå Science Park.

Hiromi Blomberg (ブロムベリひろみ), Head of Japan Business and Innovation Hub at Minc in Malmö, will talk about the City of Malmö’s efforts to increase the city’s relations with Japan, which started in 2019. The city, together with Minc, has identified a clear potential for increased cooperation, especially in innovation and startups. In May 2024, a Japan-focused business and innovation hub was established in Malmö Minc to promote business development and the development of the business community in Malmö. This summer, 10 Kobe startups came to learn how the Malmö startup ecosystem works and now a Skåne startups delegation to Tokyo SusHi tech is planned for May this year.

Victor Isaken, managing director at Sting Bioeconomy, will talk about which countries we at Sting Bioeconomy focus on and why they are particularly interesting. He will also go through two concrete cases (UK and Canada) that have led to establishments and what challenges there were in the work. And how we look at soft landing in the future with a focus on needs and solutions.

Date: 1 April
When: 12.00-13.00
Where: Digital (Zoom)