Science and Technology Center

Sweden is an advanced nation known for its high-tech market, so it should come as no surprise that business opportunities in Sweden are geared toward tech-savvy companies.

If your team has the knowledge and skills to stand proud alongside Swedish engineers and techies, keep reading to learn about 4 big opportunities for U.S. companies in Sweden.

1. Information Technology (IT)
Sweden is an IT superstar, consistently ranked among the top countries in the world in terms of networked readiness, global connectedness, and ability to use the Internet to improve people’s lives.

However, this doesn’t mean there’s no room left for U.S. companies. Providing IT solutions to growing industries like education, healthcare, and business infrastructure and services presents a huge opportunity for techies interested in the Swedish market.

2. Healthcare and the Life Sciences
The healthcare industry is one of the biggest and fastest-growing on the planet. Healthcare is an especially profitable field in highly-developed countries like Sweden, where advances in technology and an aging population present new opportunities to improve the human condition.

Better yet, Sweden enjoys the highest per capita expenditures on life science research in Europe, creating an enviable environment for pharmaceutical companies and other players in the healthcare field.

3. Renewable Energy
As illustrated by viral international news reports that that Sweden has run out of garbage, Sweden’s commitment to renewable energy and sustainable living is difficult to rival.

As the country continues to move toward an even “greener” future, business opportunities in Sweden are plentiful for companies interested in the following areas:

Bioenergy
Biofuels
Solar power
Wind power
Geothermal heating
Waste-to-energy systems
Sustainable wastewater treatment
Electric vehicles

4. Manufacturing and Materials Technology
With plentiful natural resources, highly-skilled engineers, and a network of R&D centers focused on materials, Sweden is an attractive location for many players in the industrial and engineering arenas, especially those who wish to develop and test new materials.

This is particularly true for companies interested in cutting-edge areas like nanomaterials, bionanotechnology, and nanoelectronics. American companies looking to enter the nanotech field may wish to begin by reviewing a listing of nanotechnology companies in Sweden.

As you can see, many of the leading business opportunities in Sweden for U.S. companies are in fields that are becoming increasingly important all over the world. That should also come as no surprise, since Sweden tends to be on the cutting edge of research and innovation.

One last thing before you go: I have a professional background in IT myself, so if you are interested in pursuing the first of the business opportunities in Sweden listed here, please stop by my software and website localization page to find out how I can become a valuable member of your team.

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Although Sweden offers an open business environment relatively free of bureaucratic red tape, doing business in Sweden can still be confusing if you don’t know where to turn for assistance.

This article will help by introducing you to 9 great resources that can get you started on the right path.

1. Sweden.se

Sweden’s official promotional website, Sweden.se provides a reliable resource for facts about Sweden. The information on this website is broken down into 6 main categories: society, culture, traditions, nature, business, and quick facts.

2. Europages.co.uk/companies/Sweden/Sweden.html

Europages is a portal for and directory of European companies intended to encourage business-to-business interactions. The link above provides a list of Swedish businesses; looking through it could be your first step to finding a local partner.

3. Startupoverseas.co.uk

Startup Overseas is a resource intended to help you launch or expand a business outside of the United Kingdom. There, you can find information about starting a business in or expanding a business to Sweden, buying a business or franchise in Sweden, and importing or exporting to Sweden, along with a list of experts ready to answer your questions about doing business in Sweden.

4. Business-Sweden.se

Jointly owned by the government of Sweden and Swedish private industry, respectively represented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Foreign Trade Association, Business Sweden facilitates foreign investment in Swedish organizations and international growth for Swedish companies. Business Sweden can provide strategic investment advice, matchmaking and introductions to public and private Swedish companies and organizations, meeting arrangements in Sweden, and much more.

5. Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom

The Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom is a non-profit organization that promotes the exchange of ideas and experiences, along with networking and trade, between Sweden and the U.K. This organization can help you with various aspects of doing business in Sweden, including setting up introductions, references, company visits, and study visits, along with providing event management services.

6. Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce

SACC-USA is grassroots nonprofit organization that facilitates and supports trade, commerce, and investment between the U.S. and Sweden. This organization’s offerings include the Business Accelerator Program, the Swedish-American Membership Directory, the Entrepreneurial Days trade and networking event, and a Trainee Program designed to provide U.S. companies with qualified trainees from Sweden.

7. Stockholm International Fairs and Congress Centre

The Stockholm International Fairs and Congress Centre, known in Sweden as Stockholmsmässan, but colloquially called Älvsjömässan, arranges trade fairs in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm. Stockholmsmässan’s website is a great place to find information about upcoming exhibitions and events, as well as learn how to run your own.

8. Fairlink

A subsidiary of Scandinavian Survey Group, Fairlink strives to be a center of excellence serving the conference and exhibition industry. This organization provides extensive information about and training for Swedish trade fair organizers and presenters.

9. Svensk Handel

The Swedish Trade Federation, is an organization for Swedish employers that serves the entire commerce and trade sector. This organization offers commercial development and establishment advisory services within the retail trade sector.

Of course, I also hope that I can be a helpful resource to you as you begin the process of doing business in Sweden, both through the information provided on this blog and through my professional English to Swedish translation and localization services.

I wish you the best of luck!

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Yesterday I attended a seminar held by Utah Technology Council here in Salt Lake City. The presenter was Adam Wooten from Globalization Group, talking about how to develop localization ready websites.  His key point was to prepare in advance to ensure that the localization process will be easy and cost-effective. To correct an error for one language, before going global can be $1000, but $25,000 to fix after having launched the site in 25 languages.

In order to prepare well, we should think of both technical aspects and cultural aspects.

Examples of technical aspects are:

• Regional settings such as number and measurement formats
• Character sets
• Separate code and translatable text
• Text expansion
• Text in images (harder to localize)
• Concatenated strings (harder to localize)

Examples of cultural aspects are:

• Cultural aspects: eliminate local cultural examples, example, American Football
• Brand Names (will they work in the target country?)
• Symbols, Images and Colors (how are they perceived in the target country?)

As a translator, I especially liked his tips for content authors:

• Write with the translator in mind
• Avoid ambiguity
• Avoid references and allusions, such as references to sports
• Limit concatenations
• Take advantage of repetitions (easy to handle with CAT-tools)

Adam Wooten is the CEO of Globalization Group, a localization company in Utah, and a member of Utah Translators and Interpreters Association.

Readers, do you have any other tips to prepare websites to go global? Happy Global Earth Day everyone!

Check also:

• 4 Keys Steps For Translating Your Website From English to Swedish
• 6 Fundamental Tips for Website Localization to Reach Global Markets
• Swedish Localization and Website Translation: 4 Ways Your Business Can Benefit
• Why You Should Localize Your Website to Swedish?
• Things to Avoid When Translating a Website

As a Swedish translator I follow business news in Sweden, but particularly news from the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (SACC). US and Sweden have a long history of thriving business relations with each other. Here are some interesting statistics about the Swedish business climate from SACC:

>> Sweden’s business sector is unique for its large number of multinational corporations in relation to the relative size of the national economy.

>> Sweden places third in economic competitiveness within the EU, after Switzerland and Denmark (Source: World Economic Forum, 2008-2009).

>> Sweden is ranked as number four in economic competitiveness (Source: World Economic Forum, 2009-2010).

>> Sweden is ranked number one when it comes to technological readiness (Source: World Economic Forum, 2009-2010)

>> In 2008, there were more than 12,800 foreign-owned companies employing a total of 620,000 Swedes. USA was the country with the most IT companies, 241 and almost 12,000 employees. (Source: Only in Swedish; Tillväxtanaly)

>> Sweden is foremost in innovation capability (Source: Global Summary Innovation Index; Trendchart, 2007).

>> The highest internet penetration in Europe; 80% (Source: Invest in Sweden Agency)

> Sweden was in 2008 ranked number 18 as one of the leading exporters and importers in world trade in commercial services. (Source: WTO)

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