Sweden Use Networks To Boost Regional Growth - An interview with Christina Lugnet

Besides the usual mix of economic stimuli, Sweden’s non-socialist government also promotes entrepreneurship, competitiveness, regional and local development, partially funded by the European Union. “Our focus is regional development and entrepreneurship,” says Christina Lugnet, head of Sweden’s youngest authority, Tillväxtverket (The Growth Agency), which was formed in April of 2009.

Before taking charge of Sweden’s new growth agency, Christina Lugnet was mayor of Haparanda, a small town located on the border between Sweden and Finland at the northernmost part of the Botnia Sea. The city itself is an example of how new thinking and entrepreneurship can overcome economic and regional challenges. Since 2005, Haparanda and its Finnish “twin-city” Tornio, market themselves as Haparanda-Tornio.
“I have worked a lot with local, regional and cross-border local development. We actually fused the two city cores, and integrated the educational systems and the social systems of the two cities,” she says. 

Despite the seemingly all-encompassing name, the Tillväxtverket does not attempt to shoulder the responsibility for Sweden’s economic growth, which primarily relies on its export-oriented industries, and its large public sector. Instead it supports small and mid-sized businesses, especially in areas affected by structural change and where jobs are scarce. The agency has 300 employees of which about 100 works with regional development funds. The EU has a 7-year program providing 8,5 billion SEK (about $1.2 billion), but all investments from the EU funds must be matched locally, making a total of 17 billion SEK available for development.
“Entrepreneurship plays a large role in our mission. We support female entrepreneurs, foreign-born entrepreneurs, and programs that target young people,” she says. “We also support product development, and development of economic clusters.” This is done all across Sweden, and not only in Sweden’s large and sparsely populated northern part.
“We strive for sustainable development, and help small businesses prepare for a world that is increasingly globalized. By sustainable development, we mean that it should be long-term and environmentally friendly,” she says. 
“We make it easier for small and midsized companies to join economic clusters, but we also help isolated companies reach the global market. Take markets geared towards the environment for example. Here we can help them grow and over time reach a larger market.”
“It can be a challenge both economically and knowledge wise to reach a foreign market. Bigger companies might work with the Swedish Trade Council (Exportrådet), but smaller companies might want to work with some of the networks we support. We have for example a European network called Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). All 27 EU members are part of this network, and it can help companies who want to enter other markets.
“In one case, a water cleaning company from Umeå wanted to see if they could sell their product in Germany. They asked the EEN about what specifications they had to fulfill on the German market, and they got an answer back in a day, which made it easy to approach that market,” she says. “It’s important to have networks that can give you up-to-date information about what it takes to enter various markets.”

What do companies do if they are interested in the U.S. market? “They could contact the Swedish Trade Council or the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis,” she says. The latter agency was formed in April out of the Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies – ITPS – and the National Rural Development Agency – Glesbygdsverket.) They can also hire private consultants.”
How can you help a company that is interesting in the U.S. market? “We have started to discuss this with SACC-USA. They could come in as a resource in addition to the European networks we are working with today, and provide additional knowledge and advice to small companies interested in the U.S. market. Most small companies would probably approach the nearby markets first, but all markets are becoming interesting thanks to the globalization. And the more information you have, the better your chances are,” she adds.

Written by Hans Sandberg