“Sweden has great potential to grow internationally”
Hello there Magnus Fransson! You have recently taken over the role as the Director of Internationalisation at IoT Sweden. Please tell us briefly about your background.
“With my engineering background from Ericsson’s mobile phone system development work in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I belong to the first generation of IoTers. At that time, IoT was mainly about adding GSM functionality to various applications, such as alarms. A very stripped down mobile phone, in short. The developments since then have been astonishing and so exciting. Since my time at Ericsson, I have worked in various roles within the Swedish innovation system. As an investor, as an entrepreneur and as a management consultant.”
What is top of the agenda when it comes to IoT Sweden’s internationalisation efforts?
“Since the start, we have had around 200 businesses and companies involved in our projects. Among these, there are many with great potential to grow internationally as well. Together with Business Sweden and others, we want to support this journey. We have therefore just initiated a programme, a road trip, to meet these businesses and companies. In March, the first trip will be to Luleå and Skellefteå.”
An overall goal of IoT Sweden as a strategic innovation programme is to increase Sweden’s competitive power internationally. What will it take to succeed?
“Sweden has a fine tradition of creating competitive products and services, where collaboration between academia, the public, the private sector and civil society actually works in practice. At the same time, we are a small country with a small domestic market – a challenge in one sense, but also our good fortune. A key factor for success as a Swedish company is to look outwards, especially if you are a company in an R&D-intensive landscape, which IoT is. These companies need to grow and sharpen their competitive edge internationally in order to be competitive in the Swedish market.”
“Similarly, you would think that Sweden would be an unattractive country for international companies to invest in, just because we are so small. But it turns out that we are a very interesting market to develop in. We are an advanced market in which companies can foster competitive international solutions. We must never lose this, and we must remain open to accommodating these companies.”
What challenges do you see?
“Time, as always, is a finite resource.”
What is the concrete approach?
“For IoT Sweden as a programme, it is about continuing to build networks, create relationships and share knowledge, in as close a dialogue as possible with the projects we work with.”
You are also an author and have written the book Investera i Norden [Investing in the Nordics], which is about the struggle for global investment funds. Is the Nordic region attractive to foreign investors?
“The Nordic region is an exciting and advanced market, with countries that have a similar history, culture and political system. It is a market that many in the outside world probably consider to be a single market, the Nordic market. A great springboard for business. And in that context, it is much better to showcase 30 million Nordic people rather than 10 million Swedes. I do not think that an international investor attaches so much importance to whether they end up in Denmark or Sweden. We are basically the same country and the sample people, aren’t we? We are more likely to be the ones who point out the small differences rather than the infinite similarities. That is what the book is about, developing and exploring the similarities; building bridges rather than digging ditches.”
Entrepreneurs – we want to meet you!
Are you an entrepreneur who has participated in the IoT Sweden project? Are you curious to meet IoT Sweden and Business Sweden? Read more and sign up to take part:
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