New project to make use of the experience of people born abroad
Minister for Trade Ewa Björling is today launching a special initiative to make use of the skills of foreign-born entrepreneurs with a long-term view to increasing trade with the rest of the world.
"The objective is to increase Swedish trade and by doing so, create jobs and growth in Sweden," says Andreas Hatzigeorgiou who is leading the project at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Andreas Hatzigeorgiou wants the skills of people born abroad to be put to good use. Photo: Ellinor Lundmark/MFA
Andreas Hatzigeorgiou has a degree in economics and has worked at the World Bank. On the instructions of the Minister for Trade, he is now leading the Kosmopolit project and is behind the study on the relation between immigration and Swedish foreign trade.
"The study shows that if immigration increases by about 12 000 people, the result will be an increase in exports by some SEK 7 billion," he says.
One in five companies set up in Sweden is started by a person with a foreign background, and these foreign-born entrepreneurs - with their knowledge of the politics, business culture and language of their former home countries - possess a unique set of skills.
People born abroad will show the way
"The aim of the project is to put the experience of these entrepreneurs to good use. They are in a very good position to do business in their former home countries and also to act as guides for Swedish companies that want to set up operations abroad," says Mr Hatzigeorgiou.
A first step in the initiative is to establish networks where foreign-born entrepreneurs can meet, exchange experience and support each other. This may be a matter of informing each other about the documents needed to export to a specific country or the customs regulations that apply. Mr Hatzigeorgiou believes that in Sweden the state needs to become involved and encourage entrepreneurs.
"In other countries, for example in the US, these networks are formed of their own accord. There, they have seen that networks among people of Chinese origin have increased trade. These types of networks do not exist in the same way in Sweden," says Mr Hatzigeorgiou.
Sounding board for the Minister
To this end, the Swedish Trade Council has been instructed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to identify key people in Stockholm, Malmö, Linköping and Halmstad, who will serve as the hubs of the project and gather together entrepreneurs in their regions. There are also plans to establish a kind of entrepreneurs council that could serve as a sounding board for the Minister for Trade, offer trade delegation visits, entrepreneurship training and conferences where Swedish companies could meet entrepreneurs with foreign backgrounds.
"The interest on the part of entrepreneurs is huge. The initiative focuses primarily on small and medium-sized companies but many of those taking part are micro-companies," says Mr Hatzigeorgiou.
