Ylva Berg former Chief Executive Officer and President, Business Sweden
Winner: Best use of partnerships
Business Sweden
THE HIGH POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAMME
‘This award [signals] to everyone in the organization that we do make a difference and that we are world class … This is also an award for our partners. It recognizes their contribution to help us close big deals and points out to them that all of us together make a difference. ’
Ylva Berg former Chief Executive Officer and President, Business Sweden
WHAT THE JUDGES SAY
‘Very innovative: Magnifies the role of trade promotion organizations as catalysers and accelerators of large export projects.’
‘Highly relevant: Partnership focus on Swedish SMEs, not simply international donors or other national agencies.’
‘Collaborative: Team Sweden’s trade support network is crucial in generating new business.’
‘Well-designed: Unique, well-thought concept.’
AT A GLANCE
A ‘Team Sweden’ for infrastructure bids
Business Sweden found its export sector was facing declining market share in the global marketplace. Industry leaders confirmed a lack of cooperation was holding back both large and small companies.
Business Sweden recognized that it could power up competitive bids for sizable infrastructure projects by setting up a project pipeline; integrating services from official business support organizations, embassies and Swedish government offices; and building the capacity of companies to provide a collective, competitive offer.
This created an ecosystem for large firms and SMEs to collaborate on these bids, either as suppliers to Swedish companies or complementary direct exports of their own.
Finance is always a challenge in such consortia, as Swedish firms did not wish to take on the role of a major contractor for large international projects.
Thus, the Swedish Export Credit Agency and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation formed the core of a working group with Business Sweden. They were joined by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Swedfund. This nucleus became Team Sweden, a partnership created in 2015 and still vibrant today.
The partnership gave SMEs access to a strong team for major international projects. They have access to market information, business partners and financing solutions.
LOOKING CLOSER
Business Sweden as a hub
Business Sweden is the project manager, focusing on the most promising leads. It presents the entire Swedish offering, including the set of bidding companies, financing solutions, risk mitigation for local partners and support for project preparation.
Once the lead companies are committed to an opportunity, Business Sweden participates in a second phase of partnership building, where it helps establish a business cluster of large companies and SMEs.
Engineering, procurement and construction projects are initiated with foreign companies looking to access Swedish suppliers and financing solutions. Business Sweden’s capacity building supports these sustainable projects through Team Sweden.
Team Sweden also assists by identifying enough Swedish content for the project to qualify for export credit, which ensures it will be finalized.
This gives buyers, financiers and other decision makers a comprehensive view of Sweden’s contribution to international projects. It also allows them to provide complementary support.
Regular reporting provides a continuous health check on individual opportunities and helps Team Sweden members to plan initiatives.
Sustaining a global pipeline
To keep a global pipeline of projects flowing, Business Sweden has learned to target the early project development stage for big infrastructure and nurture a team of companies to provide a viable concept with resources. It also targets the late stages of procurement and financing.
MEASURING SUCCESS
Roundtable discussions with CEO-level representatives and government, think tanks and academia in 40 global markets laid the groundwork to win new business and open the door to new opportunities.
Twenty projects have been completed in the energy, transportation, mining and information and communication technologies sectors. Measures of success:
- Contracts awarded with an estimated value of €4.7 billion;
- More than half of the participating companies are SMEs;
- Positive feedback from Swedish companies and stakeholders.
ASSESSING IMPACT: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Since 2019, Business Sweden has begun to assess the impact of each project against three Sustainable Development Goals:
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Climate Action
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
In Abidjan, Business Sweden worked closely with the government to develop sustainable public transport. Scania, one of the largest bus manufacturers in Sweden, played an important role. Several SMEs specialized in biofuel production, both in Côte d’Ivoire and Sweden, were also suppliers. Team Sweden provided advisory services, based on its experiences in Sweden and around the world.
‘We’ve just concluded the signing of 450 buses for the new bus system here in Abidjan. This was possible due to the great collaboration with Team Sweden, including Swedfund, Business Sweden and the local embassy.’
Anna Carmo e Silvia Head of Buses and Coaches, Scania
‘This project has a positive climate impact and will create thousands of jobs in Côte d’Ivoire over the next several years.’
Tom Walsh Chief Executive Officer, Renetech
BUSINESS SWEDEN
CONTACT Jan Larsson Chief Executive Officer and President
ADDRESS P.O. Box 240 SE 101 24 Stockholm Sweden
WEBSITE www.business-sweden.com
