A PRE-STUDY
AN ACCELERATOR FOR
FOREIGN-BORN
ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Submitted To
Region Skåne
Malmö- March 2015
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
CONTENTS
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................ 3
2.
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 4
3.
BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................... 7
4.
REVIEW OF ACCELERATORS MODEL .................................................................................... 10
5.
IDENTIFIED GAPS IN THE EXISTING INNOVATION SYSTEM ................................................. 17
6.
STATISTICAL GROUND .......................................................................................................... 18
7.
EMPIRICAL DATA .................................................................................................................. 24
8.
CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 27
9.
RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................... 29
10. SUGGESTED SOLUTION ......................................................................................................... 31
ANNEX 1: INTERVIEEWS AND CONSULTANTS.............................................................................. 34
ANNEX 2: REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 52
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Skåne has a very good innovation climate and has built a good incubation system. However,
Skåne is not yet realizing its full potential, especially when it comes to foreign-born
entrepreneurs.
Studying the statistics on entrepreneurship, it is evident that foreign-born entrepreneurs are
overrepresented in sectors such as hotels and restaurants and trade, but underrepresented in
sectors such as ICT. This indicates that the full potential of this group is not being fully realised
and that with the right instruments, new high-growth companies are likely to be created.
This pre-study highlights some of the potential collaboration areas with the current innovation
system, gives a picture of the existing accelerator structure in Europe, identifies areas where
foreign-born entrepreneurs find the Swedish system too complicated, and gives concrete
recommendations for a way forward.
The main conclusion from this pre-study is the urgent need for a shorter version of the
incubation programs and the need to speed up the process of receiving and maintaining the
foreign-born entrepreneurs in Sweden. There is a frustration at the moment amongst foreignborn entrepreneurs that they are not "connected” with the traditional innovation system. A
better way of integrating foreign-borns into the system will not only increase integration it will
also create job growth - in long term could this mean 800 - 2000 new jobs in the region and at
least 60 million in tax revenue for the region.
Key recommendations are:
 To oversee the short-comings of the innovation system, related to foreign-born
entrepreneurs, and open the doors to diversity.
 To create a fast-track access to the Swedish business community, for the foreign-born
entrepreneurs, and create a mentoring platform for them in order to get into Swedish
innovation systems.
 To take the initiative to establish and fund an accelerator focused on foreign-born
entrepreneurs leading high growth companies.
 To take the initiative to deepen the collaboration between Arbetsförmedlingen, Migration
Board and large corporations.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
2. INTRODUCTION
This pre study will provide a brief understanding of how the human capital that is present in the
community of foreign-borns (A person born abroad or born in Sweden with both parents were
born abroad is considered to have a foreign background) in Skåne can better be utilised in
creating new high-growth companies (companies growing at 20% pa with the capability of
maintaining that rate for 3 years). This pre study maps the structural capital as presented in
interviews with foreign-born entrepreneurs. It shows how innovation system can be improved
by putting the lens on the foreign-born entrepreneurs. It also identifies the gaps in the
innovation system, benchmark different acceleration models and suggests a concept for an
accelerator that is replicable in other regions.
THE AIM
The aim of this pre-study is to find a model on how to accelerate high-growth companies run
by foreign born entrepreneurs.
This will give Region Skåne a basis for future decisions and measures to promote growth and
gives the existing actors in the innovation system a knowledge base on how to better utilise the
expertise available in the region. In the long term, this builds a foundation for the creation of
new jobs and export in the region. By showing how the region can better utilize foreign-borns
in high-growth companies, the region's attractiveness will increase in the long term.
THE METHODOLOGY
This pre-study is comprised of theoretical and empirical endeavors undertaken by the
following:
1. Theory: Collecting and analysing statistics, reviewing relevant literature including
studies, reports and research papers about the business immigrants, entrepreneurship
in Sweden, the innovation system and Skåne‟s different related strategies. Another part
of the theory is the review of the current innovation scene in Skåne and identifying the
gaps in the system. Finally, an analysis of the different known accelerator models is
conducted in order to recommend the best fit for Skåne‟s needs.
2. Empirical: Interviews has been conducted with different groups of stakeholders. The full
interviews are listed in Annex 1 of this document. For the interviews purposes,
stakeholders were grouped to
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
a) Interviews with foreign-born entrepreneurs running companies with high
growth potential: during these interviews, we wanted to understand the problems
they faced while starting their companies in Sweden, to understand their relationship
with the current innovation system and to solicit their thoughts about the best
solutions to fulfill the needs of their businesses. The group was divided into foreignborn who succeeded to start high-growth companies in Sweden, and those who
failed to do that, and finally entrepreneurs who are not living in Sweden but want to
start high-growth companies in Sweden or partner with Swedish companies.
b) Interviews with international investors: among our interviewees were international
investors who expressed clear interest in investing in Swedish small and medium
enterprises (SMEs), opening new markets for them in different regions of the world.
c) Interviews with policy makers and innovation system key players: We have
interviewed policymakers from different organizations and some of the actors in the
current innovation system to gain their perspectives regarding this study subject to
get their perspective on this issue.
The collected data is then analyzed through qualitative methods to understand and synthesize
concrete recommendations for Region Skåne for review. Finally, this report will be submitted
and presented to Region Skåne with recommendations.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
THE TEAM
In the work to create this pre study, together this team has created this report:
Fairooz Tamimi
Is a Jordanian entrepreneur with international experience. She started
organizations and companies in the Middle East and Sweden. She is
building bridges between Arab entrepreneurs/investors and Swedish
companies and entrepreneurs. She holds a B.Sc in Electrical
Engineering. Founding Member of HIC, an international connections
network for Expats and Re-pats in Sweden.
Kajsa Holst
has started up several companies and was the founder of Righteous
fashion. She is a pioneer in fair and organic fashion. She holds a
Bachelor Degree in international human rights. Today she works as a
project manager and business developer including YallaTrappan and
other innovative projects in Skåne. Kajsa has also developed
production sites around the world and built capacity for better business.
Micael Gustafsson
Is a serial entrepreneur with a background in advertising, automotive,
IT, Media and Telecom. During the last years he has been working with
helping start ups with funding and internationalisation both as a private
entrepreneur and as a part of the public innovation system.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
3. BACKGROUND
Skåne is embracing more than 193 nationalities with one fifth of Skåne's population born
overseas; foreign-born persons in Skåne were 249,181 of a Population of 1,288,908 in 2014,
which is 19.3%. Skåne has the highest unemployment rate in Sweden1, especially among
foreign-born and youth. Skåne has low taxable capacity with 92.7%, and is ranked fifteen
among Sweden's 21 regions/county councils. Compared to the rest of Sweden, Skåne has
relatively low exports and low productivity.
“Skåne shows dynamism in new firm creation but weakness in new firms‟ growth. Newly
created enterprises are heavily concentrated in the agglomerations in Sweden, with Skåne
accounting for 15% of all start-ups nationwide. However, Skåne is relatively dependent on its
newly created enterprises, and their proportion in total regional enterprises is the highest
outside the capital region.”2
This is in alignment with international trends. In the US for instance, new firms (younger than
five years) created 80 percent of the job growth during 2014. For Skåne it will be of vital
importance to also use the potential amongst foreign-born entrepreneurs since this group
represents a large part of the total number of newly started companies.
THE NEEDS
Looking at Skåne‟s regional development strategy, it will be essential to use the potential we
see amongst foreign-born entrepreneurs and the knowledge base they represent:
“Development and growth in Skåne shall be economically, ecologically and socially
sustainable, resource-efficient, climate-neutral, competitive and of high quality. Trade and
industry plays an important role in the work for sustainable development. The ability to see and
meet needs, to find new solutions, to develop new products and welfare services, and to
create new job opportunities will be decisive. In Skåne, all economic activity shall involve
reasonable use of resources.”3
In Skåne, growth in employment is driven primarily by established companies, hence, Skåne
1
The Open Skåne 2030 - Skåne's Regional Development Strategy
OECD Territorial Reviews: Skåne, Sweden 2012
3
The Open Skåne 2030- Skåne's Regional Development Strategy
2
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
needs more viable and growing companies where innovation needs to be encouraged, within
both specialist knowledge-based companies and more traditional trade and industry.
“65% of foreign-born small business owners aspire to hire more employees as part of their
expansion, compared to just 48% of Swedish-born small business owners”4.
Summary of main strengths and challenges addressed
in the OECD Territorial Review of Skåne
There is a need to create better transparency for actors in the Swedish innovation system and
to find a model that fulfils the needs of foreign-born entrepreneurs while being able to be
economically self-sufficient.
“Large demographic changes and growing global competition mean that extensive knowledge
and strong innovation are decisive factors for international success. As such, the future
innovation ability of trade and industry in Skåne is of great importance.”5
Skåne has a strategic objective to generally open the doors wider for diversity, specifically into
the existing innovation system. To fulfill this objective we need to include more people: “A
4
OECD - Entrepreneurship and Migrants - 2010
5
The Open Skåne 2030 - Skåne's Regional Development Strategy
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
strong innovation capacity requires a broader view of innovation and an inclusive approach.”6
Empirical studies from innovation hubs like London and Berlin show that environments that are
inclusive have a higher degree of new innovations and score higher on innovation rankings.
Another vital factor for regional growth is the ability to internationalize small companies that are
scalable:
“Export has a positive impact on economic growth, and exporting companies often achieve a
higher level of productivity than non-exporting companies. Most companies in Sweden are
small, and it is of vital importance for the Swedish economy that they successfully develop and
grow. In a small home-market economy like Sweden, an important direction for growth is to
expand internationally.”7
Foreign-born entrepreneurs, especially those who have arrived to Skåne during the past year,
still have the business contacts in their home countries and they understand the business
potentials there. Knowing that among Sweden‟s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) “many
companies do not dare to internationalize due to a perceived lack of competence” 8 those
resources provided by foreign-born are of extreme importance; they help Swedish companies
to increase exports to new markets.
“As such, central to growth, global competitiveness and social sustainability is to use the
resources found in Skåne in the best possible way.”9This leads to an increase in the Swedish
international exports and promotes Sweden as an entrepreneurial and innovation hub.
Integration of foreign-born entrepreneurs is an important tool for business growth, especially if
we could speed up the process of taking their companies to the Swedish market with all the
potential of business interaction with Swedish small and medium companies. This needs to be
done in cooperation with current actors in the current innovation structure.
Many foreign-born entrepreneurs move into work options like blue collar jobs or even get stuck
with their companies or other jobs where they are overqualified, resulting in brain drain and
integration issues to mention a few. Getting stuck in a sector where you are overqualified is
one of the most problematic issues for foreign-born entrepreneurs, which often leads to that
they move to another country.
6
International Innovation Strategy for Skåne (IIFS), 2012-2020
Internationalization Competence of SMEs Report
8
Internationalization Competence of SMEs Report
9
The Open Skåne 2030 - Skåne's Regional Development Strategy
7
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
4. REVIEW OF ACCELERATORS MODEL
Today, there are few accelerators in Sweden. The one with the highest reputation is Sting in
Stockholm which has a model very close to the original model of the Y-Combinator; they both
give a capital injection of 250,000 SEK in the beginning and take 2 percent equity. Since Sting
started their acceleration program, there has been a big interest in accelerators and new
actors have entered the innovation scene. One of the new accelerators in Skåne is “Think”
which is based in Helsingborg and will be taking in the first batch of companies in spring 2015.
However, since this phenomenon is relatively new in Sweden, it will be hard to evaluate the
Swedish actors at this stage, hence, the report is focused on the large accelerators in Europe
that have been operative for a longer period of time.
ACCELERATORS AND HOW THEY WORK
Accelerators are relatively new phenomena in the innovation system. The first accelerator was
(at least they claim that) Y-Combinator that started in Cambridge Massachusetts 2005. Since
then many more have started and in Europe alone there are today about 200 start-up support
organizations that call themselves accelerators. It could be discussed though if most of them
really should be considered as a true accelerator.
Most accelerator programs are modeled on the format of Y-Combinator or Techstars (founded
2006). Y-Combinator funds two batches of entrepreneurs a year and the program runs for
three months at a time. Start-ups are asked to move to the Bay Area but they primarily work
out of their own offices or houses. The start-ups meet together for weekly speaker dinners and
have regular office hours with the Y Combinator team and mentors. Techstars also runs for
three months, but in contrast to Y Combinator it offers a more structured program where startups physically move into the accelerator‟s co–working space for the duration of the program.
This means that the number of start-ups in Y-Combinator is higher (normally around 50 per
year) compared to Techstars (around 12 per year).
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
ACCELERATOR FOUNDATION
There are no “official” rules around who could call themselves an accelerator or not, but
according to researchers Miller and Bound (2011) most accelerators have the following
characteristic:
1. Possible offer of upfront investment (€10k – €50k), usually in exchange for equity (~5–10
per cent).
2. Time–limited support (three to six months) comprising of programmed events and intensive
mentoring.
3. An application process that is „in principle‟ open to all, yet highly competitive.
4. Cohorts or classes of start-ups rather than individual companies.
5. Mostly a focus on small teams, not individual founders.
6. Periodic graduation with a Demo Day/Investor Day.
Looking at this, it is more obvious that most accelerators in Europe do not live up to the above
characteristic. It doesn‟t mean that they don‟t fill a purpose; it just means that they could not be
considered as accelerators according to the original characteristics.
MAIN ACCELERATORS IN EUROPE
Looking at the above and according to Clarysse, Wright and Van Hove (A look inside
accelerators 2015) the main accelerators in Europe are placed in London, Berlin and Paris.
They have the following set up:
source: A look inside accelerators 2015, Clarysse, Wright and Van Hove
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Table 1 / Examples of finance from accelerator programmes
Accelerator
Location
Date
created
Lenght of
programme
Investment
size*
Equity
stake
taken
Output (#active
companies /
follow-on funding)
Techstars
London
UK London
2013
3 months option
conv. loan
£ 12,500 +
6%
22/- £10,4M
Healthbox
Europe
UK London
2012
4 months
£ 50,000
10%
7/undisclosed
Fintech
Innovation Lab
UK London
2012
3 months
/
/
14/undisclosed
Bethnal Green
Ventures
UK London
2011
3 months
£ 15,000
6%
34/- £9,3M
Climate-KIC
Europe
Europe
2010
12-18 months
Max. of
£ 75,500
/
45/- £46,5M
Microsoft
Ventures Acc.
Germany,
Berlin
2013
4 months
/
/
16/undisclosed
Axel Springer
Plug & Play Acc.
Germany,
Berlin
2013
3 months
£ 19,900
5%
46- £6M
ProSiebenSat.1
Accelerator
Germany,
Münich/
Berlin
2013
3 months
£ 19,900
5%
26/undisclosed
Startupbootcamp Berlin
Germany,
Berlin
2012
3 months
£ 11,900
8%
16- £4,9M
Le Camping
France,
Paris
2010
6 months
£ 3,600
3%
72- £14,8M
TheFamily
France,
Paris
2013
Indefinite
/
3%
undisclosed
L'Accélérateur
France,
Paris
2012
4 months option
for more
£ 7,900 +
7-10%
49/undisclosed
Scientipôle
Croissance
France,
Paris
2002
6 months
£ 15,900 £ 71,500
/
undisclosed
N.B: These figures can be negotiable and therefore are guidance at the time of publication. This data
should be treated with caution as it is largely self-reported. It should not be considered complete or upto-date.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
THE “NORMAL” ACCELERATOR MODEL
Looking at the most common accelerators, a pattern can be observed in how they are
constructed. There are for instance strategic choices that will affect how the accelerator will
develop:
STRATEGIC FOCUS
What type of strategic focus will the accelerator have? It will affect the accelerator and how it
works. There are different types of strategies concerning: Type of Industry (Techstars is for
instance focused only on ICT), Geographical location and key objectives.
PROGRAM PACKAGE
The next component of an accelerator is the program package. Normally the package consists
of:
A „curriculum‟ or „training program‟ that new ventures go through. This can cover a variety
of topics, for instance, the ProSiebenSat.1 accelerator includes finance, user design, PR,
marketing and legal aspects.
 A program of events, such as expert workshops and inspiring talks.
 Regular counseling, often in the form of weekly „office hours‟. These regular meetings with
the accelerator management team generate mutual trust, and provide the founding teams
with business assistance and enable a „weekly‟ review of their progress.
 Investor demo days. These can be focused as much on customers as on investors; for
example, Healthbox Europe focus their demo day on getting customers in the room for their
start-ups.
 Co–location in a shared open office space, which encourages peer–to–peer learning and
collaboration.
On top of this the accelerators also offers mentoring, which is often considered as one of the
most important part of the program package. This is the base of the most “hyped” accelerator
at the moment – 500 Start-Ups – that is California based and builds its success only on having
the best network of mentors in the US.

FUNDING STRUCTURE
Another important component is how funding is provided both for the accelerator in itself and
for the start-ups.
When it comes to funding of the accelerator in itself most of the accelerators are funded by
stakeholders. It can be funded by investors, corporations or public sector. Still most of the
accelerators are not able to fund themselves through exits in companies, probably because it
takes time before equity turns into profit of sales. This is also why some accelerators start to
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
diversify and also create second revenue streams from for instance events and training.
Most accelerators also provide initial funding of the start-ups in the range between€4,000 to €
50,000. In return they take equity in the range of 3-10%. Most accelerators also have a number
of private investors backing them up in order to provide the funding of the companies.
SCREENING PROCESS
This is the component which differentiates different accelerators the most. Most screen new
start-ups in “chunks” but there are also those who do continuous screening and the program
that follows is often also more flexible.
One thing that is similar to all accelerators, according to interviews done by Clarysse, Wright
and Van Hove, is that they value the team more than the business in itself. Some accelerators
also give the possibility to “add” entrepreneurs to teams if needed.
ALUMNI SERVICE
The last component that is seen for the accelerators is the service they give to the companies
when they leave the accelerator. This includes events but also invitations to investor activities
in order to help the companies to grow.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCELERATORS
Looking at the European accelerators you can identify 3 different types of accelerator:
-The Investor lead accelerator
-The Matchmaker accelerator
-The Ecosystem accelerator
What differentiates these are the main focus and objectives and you can clearly see that
programs and screening processes are different according to what type of accelerator you are.
THE INVESTOR LEAD
This is the archetype that is most close to the original Y-Combinator model, a group of
business angels or VC companies are the funders behind the accelerator. The idea is to bridge
the gap between early stage seed money and a working investable business.
In Europe this is illustrated best by Axel Springer Plug & Play accelerator that has the goal to
help the big media company to do new and profitable investments.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
MATCHMAKING FOCUS
We see more and more large companies (like Accenture and PWC) that create accelerators in
order to help start ups to grow and with the main focus to – in the long term – get new
customers. This means that the company also involves existing customers and financial
institutions in order to match make them with the customers.
ECHO SYSTEM FOCUS
These are accelerators with normally a public stakeholder as the main funding source for
instance the European Commission or national innovation agencies. Looking at existing
accelerators of this type it is also obvious that most of them has a very unclear business and
revenue model.
The three different types can be illustrated with the following model: (source: Clarysse, Wright and
Van Hove A look inside accelerators 2015)
Table 2 / Summary of key elements from archetypes in accelerators
Investor-led
Matchmaker
Accelerator
Strategy
Key stakeholders are
investors; goal is to look for
investment opportunities
Programme
package
Fixed programme length;
Mentors comprise of serial
entrepreneurs and business
angels; often sector specific
Key stakeholders are
corporates; goal is to provide a
service for the customer base
"matching potential customers
with startups" (NO profit
orientation
Fixed programme length;
Internal experts from corporates
are used as coaches and
mentors
Screening
Process and
Criteria
Open application; Cohortbased system; favour
venture teams in later
stages with some proven
track record
Funding from private
investors (business angels,
venture capital funds and/or
corporate venture capital);
standard seed investment
and equity engagement
Techstars, Startup boot
camp, ProSiebenSat.1
Accelerator, Axel Springer
Plug & Play Accelerator,
Funding
Structure
Examples
Open application; Cohort-based
system; favour venture teams in
later stages with some proven
track record
Funding from corporates;
seldom seed investment and
equity engagement
Fintech Innovation lab, Microsoft
Ventures Accelerator
Ecosystem
Key stakeholders are
government agencies; goal
is to stimulate startup
activity and create an
ecosystem
Fixed programme length;
Mentors comprise serial
entrepreneurs and business
developers; most developed
curriculum
Open application; Cohortbased system; favor venture
teams in very early stages
Funding from local, national
and international schemes;
experimenting with funding
structure and revenue
model (search for
sustainabillity)
Climate-KIC, Le Camping,
Bethnal Green Ventures,
Scientipôle Croissance
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
L'Accélérateur
CONCLUSIONS
There are no simple answer to the question “What is a typical accelerator?”. The only thing we
can conclude is that the large number of accelerators that is seen now in Europe does not
really reflect the original idea from 2005 of how an accelerator should be built. Some
reflections that should be taken into account are:

When starting an accelerator there should be a very clear vision and aim.

It is probably better to focus on either a certain sector or a geographical location than to
start more general accelerators.

The accelerator needs to be backed by investors who could be a mix of both private and
public funds.

Funding of the accelerator in itself needs to be done by a combination of public and private
money. It will take time for the accelerator to live on funding from exits since this takes time
to be executed.

Accelerators (at least in Sweden) should probably build a diversify strategy so they can
create second revenue streams (from events or training for instance) in order not to be
totally dependent on public funding.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
5. IDENTIFIED GAPS IN THE EXISTING INNOVATION SYSTEM
A review of the current innovation structure took place as one activity of this pre study. The
review included:
Current incubators:
(fixed duration of 24
months)
Pre incubators
Co-working spaces: Paid
(open for everybody for
free, but no support)
Cluster Organizations:
MINC
Drivhuset Malmo
Mind Park
Mobile Heights
Ideon Innovation
Venture Lab
Livsmedelsakademin
Medicon Village
Backstage
Resilient Regions
PLUS
Media Evolution
CONCLUSION
Skåne has a very well defined and developed innovation system but high-growth companies
lead by foreign-borns don‟t really fit into the normal mainstream initiative. There are several
reasons for this; one is that the existing innovation system was defined in the 70‟s where the
number of foreign-born entrepreneurs was very low. Another reason is that the existing support
organizations are located in places that don‟t feel “natural” for foreign-born entrepreneurs to
visit.
Utilizing the existing resources Sweden received from abroad and allowing everyone to benefit
of the existing innovation infrastructure is the key to broaden the concept of innovation and to
take it to a new level of growth.
All existing actors are built on more are less the same models (the incubator model created at
Stanford University during the 60‟s), which means that they will automatically attract the same
type of entrepreneurs. This is clearly observed when looking at the screening process used by
the incubators in the region or the business plan templates used by for instance Almi. They
have the same base (USA) and therefore favor companies that fit into these “norms”. That has
resulted in low level of diversity even though everybody that has been interviewed has the
ambition to increase diversity.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
6. STATISTICAL GROUND
Introduction
Looking at existing data we can conclude that foreign-born entrepreneurs stand for a
significant part of new companies starting in Sweden, but if you look at what type of
companies, sectors like trade and services are dominating amongst foreign-born while
knowledge intense areas like ICT or Life Science are under-represented. This in spite of the
fact that the trend amongst newly arrived foreign-born is that more and more have higher
education.
EDUCATIONAL LEVEL AMONGST NEWLY ARRIVED
Statistics show that people that has arrived to Sweden in 2014 has a significant higher
educational level compared to 2013 (54 percent of persons over 18 in 2014 compared to 41
percent in 2013). The explanation (according to Arbetsförmedlingen) could be that persons
coming from the Middle East - for instance Syria - in general have a higher educational level
than the average immigrant.
Looking at this, there is a reason to believe that the potential amongst foreign-born especially
those who have arrived during the latest years - is higher and not fully developed when it
comes to create high-growth companies. The following diagram shows the educational level
amongst foreign-borns who arrived to Sweden in 2014:
Source: Arbetsförmedlingen
PhD
University < 2 year
University > 2 year
High School
1%
18%
40%
23%
18%
Primary school
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Figur 2 : Andel av småföretagen som drivs av personer med
utländsk och svensk bakgrund
Svensk bakgrund
Utländsk bakgrund
13%
87%
Källa" Tillväxtverket, Företagens villkor och verklighet 2011
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONGST FOREIGN-BORN
Every eighth company in Sweden is lead by somebody that is foreign-born. Since about 16
percent of the Swedish population is foreign-born, it means that foreign-born are
underrepresented when it comes to entrepreneurship in general. But also when it comes to
starting high-growth companies, foreign-born are underrepresented.
Even though the number of foreign-borns in companies like law firms is on a relative high level,
most of these companies are one man companies with no ambition to scale up. If we look at
typical sectors with scalable high growth companies - like ICT - we clearly see that foreignborn entrepreneurs are underrepresented compared to for instance trade, restaurant and
facility management. We can see it even clearer through this diagram which shows what
sectors are overrepresented by foreign-borns:
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Figur 5 / Andel av alla småföretag som drivs av personer med utländsk och svensk bakgrund
och uppdelat på bransch
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Handel
Juridik, ekonomi, vetenskap & teknik
Bygg
Kultur, nöje, fritid & andra persontjänster
Tillverkning
Utländsk
bakgrund
Transport
Hotell & restarung
Information & kommunikation
Svensk
bakgrund
Uthyrning och andra företagstjänster
Vård, omsorg & sociala tjänster
Utbildning
El, gas, vatten & avfall
We know from statistics from SvensktNäringsliv that high-growth companies are within for
instance ICT where the number of foreign-borns still is at a very low level compared to for
instance the fact that the educational level (also regarding the number of engineers with
degree in informatics) has gone up.
TYPE OF COMPANIES STARTED
Another indicator that gives us an indication of what type of company that the entrepreneur is
starting is the legal status of the company. Foreign-borns start one person firms in a higher
degree compared to people born in Sweden.
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Figur 5 / Andel småföretag som drivs av personer med utländsk bakgrund, fördelat på bransch
0
5
10
15
20
25
Hotell & restarung
Hendel
Juridik, ekonomi, vetenskap & teknik
Bygg
Kultur, nöje, fritid & andra persontjänster
Uthyrning och andra företagstjänster
Transport
Tillverkning
Vård, omsorg & sociala tjänster
Information & kommunikation
Utbildning
El, gas, vatten & avfall
Anmärkning: Andelen företag inom El, Gas, vatten & avafll är så liten att den inte syns i
figuren. Se bilaga 2 gällande branschindelning. Källa: Tillväxtverket, Företagens villkor och
verklighet 2011
It is advised - though - to be a bit careful of making conclusions out of these differences since it
could also be explained by the fact that people born in Sweden are biased by tax authorities,
accountants and advisors saying that it is always best to start a limited company. So this could
be simply a cultural difference between Sweden and other countries. The financial factor
should also be considered; starting a Limited company requires some capital that is not
needed for a simple firm.
Figur 8 / Företagets juridiska form. Andel småföretag, på bakgrund hos den som driver
företaget.
Utländsk bakgrund
Enskild
näringsidkare
12%
47%
41%
Svensk bakgrund
37%
Aktiebolag
Handels-och
kommanditbolag
Enskild
näringsidkare
7%
56%
Aktiebolag
Handels-och
kommanditbolag
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Källa: Tillväxtverket, Företagens villkor och verklighet 2011
MINDSET AROUND GROWTH
Foreign-born persons are more focused and also more positive towards growth, which is a
very interesting finding since most knowledge intense high-growth companies are started by
people born in Sweden and also the vast majority of persons in the Swedish incubators are
born in Sweden. But the willingness to grow is significantly higher amongst foreign-borns.
Figur 14 / Andel av småföretagarna med utländsk respektive svensk bakgrund som vill
låta företaget växa, per storleksklass
Ja, både vad gäller omsättning och antalet abställda
Ja, men utan att öka antalet abställda
0 anst. | Utländsk bakgrund
0 anst. | Svensk bakgrund
1-9 anst. | Utländsk bakgrund
1-9 anst. | Svensk bakgrund
10-49 anst. | Utländsk
bakgrund
10-49 anst. | Svensk bakgrund
0
20
40
60
80
100
Källa: Tillväxtverket, Företagens villkor och verklighet 2011
A very interesting finding is that foreign-born entrepreneurs in general are more positive
towards employing more persons in order to grow compared to people born in Sweden. Which
could indicate that encouraging foreign-borns to start up high-growth knowledge-intense
companies would have impact on society in total when it comes to job growth.
FINANCING
It is in general harder for foreign-born entrepreneurs to get funding for their company even
though most of the entrepreneurs don't regard this as one of the most critical points to growing
the company. But there is a significant difference when it comes to getting finance, looking at
the following
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Figur 20 / Andel av småföretagarna med utländsk respektive svensk bakgrund som
inte baviljats kapital de senaste tre åren, per sökt finansieringsform
60
50
40
30
Utländsk bakgrund
20
Svensk bakgrund
10
0
Lån och krediter
Statligt stöd och/eller
bodrag
Externt ägarkapital
Källa: Tillväxtverket, Företagens villkor och verklighet 2011
CONCLUSIONS
Even though the statistical material is not totally clear, there are some indications:



It is reasonable to believe that the potential amongst foreign-borns to start high- growth
knowledge intense companies has increased during the past years since the educational
amongst foreign-borns has increased.
It is likely that companies in high growth sectors - like ICT - started by foreign-borns will
grow also with employees and in the same high pace, than companies started by persons
born in Sweden.
It is likely to believe that companies in early stage started by foreign-born entrepreneurs
would benefit from early seed funding and support within business development, legal
issues and company structure the same way Swedish companies do.
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7. EMPIRICAL DATA
Our empirical approach consisted of interviewing foreign-born entrepreneurs who faced many
issues starting their own businesses in Sweden. We have conducted interviews with different
categories of entrepreneurs. In this section a brief is of the main highlighted points in these
interview is given. The full interviews are in Annex 1.
Problems faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs who started their companies in
Sweden
The major problems faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs who succeeded to start their own
companies in Sweden were the unclear and extremely long process for getting and extending
the work permits, the lack of a structure that embraces the foreign-born entrepreneurs and the
lack of a welcoming strategy such as related literature in different languages, process flow,
information and orientation sessions and contacts with authorities.
One of the problems was the lack of financial support; this is faced mainly by entrepreneurs
who have been living in Sweden for more than 10 years. Other problems are lack of business
network, lack of service providers such as lawyers and legal advisors who combine the
knowledge of companies‟ laws and immigration laws, or who know about the self employment
immigration rules.
One problem that was repeated is that the entrepreneurs and their families can‟t leave
Sweden, even for business reasons, during the extension period of their permits (which can be
up to 24 months).
“Over the past five years, the average processing time has been just over 300 days at the
Migration Board. This year it has increased to 382 days“. “Last year, 647 persons applied to
the Migration Board as self employed. 277 of them were dismissed.” “Now he (a client of the
lawyer) has received written notice that the waiting time for self-employed is approximately 24
months. What happens to his business during this time?”10
10
Malmo Lawyer Jan Axelsson http://www.sydsvenskan.se/ekonomi/egenforetagare-far-vanta-lange-pauppehallstillstand/
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Problems faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs who failed to start their companies in
Sweden
Some of the problems faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs who did not succeed to start their
own companies in Sweden and decided to leave and start their companies in another company
are the poor communication with authorities like Migrationsverket and Skatteverket, and in
some cases incompetence of official employees, the lack of access to an advisor/lawyer or an
authorized person who can answer the questions of entrepreneurs, language barriers and lack
of understanding of business requirements mandated by Migrationsverket for example.
Again, the lack of access to the Swedish innovation system was noticed: They are not aware
of the incubation system or they have little confidence they fit there, or they find it expensive to
sit there, or they do not see the value of them being there. It is worth mentioning that this group
did not lack the financial resources. Some of these problems could probably be solved by
better information and collaboration between actors in the innovation system and actors
working with foreign-borns.
Somali Swedes who tried to start their own businesses during their stay in Sweden failed and
then they immigrated to UK to start their businesses. They found it difficult to establish
themselves in the network of entrepreneurs in Sweden; they felt hindered by bureaucracy,
taxation and lack of counseling in their own language. In addition, they felt that the Swedish
authority structure was not pragmatic or flexible enough.
Per Brinkemo- Author on Somali Diaspora
Problems faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs who are not living in Sweden but want
to start their companies in Sweden or partner with Swedish companies
We also interviewed some of the foreign-born Entrepreneurs who expressed their interest in
moving to Sweden to start their own businesses or who wanted to partner with Swedish small
and medium companies. Main problems can be briefed as follows: Lack of access to related
business networks (for those looking to buy a Swedish company in part or full), lack of
knowledge about the Swedish business environment and regulations, lack of understanding
business requirements and required permits to start their businesses in Sweden, language
barriers, lack of financing during the early stage of their life in Sweden, long processing time of
residency permit (up to 24 months).
Interviews with people from the innovation system, from Arbetsförmedlingen and from
Migrationsverket complete this picture. The communication between different authorities has a
big area for improvement. There is a tendency to point at organisations like
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Nyföretagarcentrum, Uppstart Malmö etc, but these organisations are focused on all types of
companies, and their expertise if often within things like legislation and basic administrative
matters (that are of course important as well). And what is more important there are no
organisations that are “hands-on” with the companies the same way that accelerators are.
Summarised conclusions
The lack of structure towards foreign-born is an obstacle, this include simple things like
information in foreign languages
Even though we normally regard the Swedish innovation system as very open and welcoming,
most persons interviewed had the feeling that they were not “welcome”. Looking at the
structure at the existing incubators (not only in Skåne, this is a general European problem)
completes the picture, most companies are started by persons born in Sweden
The support towards the group of foreign-born entrepreneurs needs to be closer to them,
especially in the phase where you are looking for potential companies to accelerate.
There are still legislative issues that need to be solved even though this is a bigger question
that cannot be solved by Region Skåne alone.
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8. CONCLUSIONS
From the interviews and analysis of different components, we found out that the foreign-born
led small businesses and foreign-born entrepreneurs tend to rely on their ethnic resources
even when they are working with mainstream economy. This is evident when they have any
forms of exchange with their home countries.
Foreign-born entrepreneurs are inclined to start low value added businesses rather than high
value added businesses, at least during their first years of arrival, because they want to secure
their living and because they don‟t think they can get investors to support their innovative
ideas.
Many of the foreign-born entrepreneurs work as individuals rather than teams, because they
did not get or know how to get match making advise/service, even when their businesses
needed the team work.
Foreign-born entrepreneurs didn‟t know about many of the resources targeting them or
available for them such as SFI for entrepreneurs, or about the incubators. Many of them think
they would not fit into an incubator because of the nature of their businesses, even though
some of them have businesses that would fit.
The need to speed up the process of receiving and maintaining the foreign-born entrepreneurs
in Sweden is urgent.
Conducting many interviews with policy makers and innovation system key players, it was
obvious and agreeable that Skåne has a very good innovation climate and has built a good
incubation system. However, Skåne is still not using the full potential of what has been built
and future regional growth needs a better integration of foreign-borns into the innovation
system.
The need for a more open, diversified scene in the business and innovation system is one
conclusion from these interviews. Another is the need for a shorter version of the incubation
programs.
It is likely that a focused accelerator program directed towards foreign-borns should have
impact on both integration and job growth. There is a frustration amongst foreign-born
entrepreneurs that they are “left out” the existing innovation system, which is also shown in the
statistics that we reviewed and during the interviews. The conclusion is therefore that brining
more foreign-born entrepreneurs closer to the system, through an accelerator, will increase
integration.
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Another conclusion is that the accelerated companies will create jobs in the region. Highgrowth, knowledge-intense companies do usually create job opportunities outside the company
with a ratio of 1 to 3; i.e one employee in a high-growth company supports three jobs outside
the company, in the service sector for instance. This means that if the accelerator on a long
term creates 10 sustainable companies that have 20 employees,in average, then the
accelerator would have created 200 new jobs in the accelerated companies and 600 new jobs
in related sectors such as services, restaurants..etc. With an average salary of 20,000
sek/month that would give a total tax revenue in Skåne of almost 60 million SEK per year and
cost savings of at least the same amount.
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9. RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of this pre-study, the team recommends that Region Skåne:
1. Take the initiative to establish and fund an accelerator focused on foreign-born
entrepreneurs leading high-growth companies.
2. Explore possibilities around the geographical placements of such an accelerator
3. Look at the gaps in the innovation system and open the doors for diversity. Region
Skåne, if starting the recommended accelerator, is recommended to focus on:
a. Target group of this pre study
b. High-growth companies
c. Finding sustainable model on how to fund operations
d. Finding a model where a capital injection is given to accelerate companies
e.
Focus on being a complementary to the current innovation structure in Skåne
and collaborate with existing innovation structure in Malmö.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
4. Create a fast-track access to the Swedish business community for foreign-born
entrepreneurs, including legal and organizational structure access as well as practical
access to business resources (small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
infrastructure...etc). This effort is better aligned with Arbetsförmedlingen and
Migrationsverket.
5. Take the initiative to deepen the collaboration between Arbetsförmedlingen, Migration
Board and large corporations in order to change the structure around learning Swedish
language as highly educated people can speak good English that is sufficient for them
to start working, and to better understand industry needs
6. Take the initiative to create a fast track validation of foreign-borns‟ qualifications (in
collaboration with higher education organizations in Skåne)
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7. Take the initiative to create a mentoring platform for foreign-born entrepreneurs in order
to get into Swedish innovation system, share knowledge, contacts and experiences,
have a mentor who introduces them to the knowledge sources, business networks and
other needed resources.
8. Speed up the process of taking foreign-born led companies to market with all the
potential of business interaction with Swedish companies.
9. Start a welcoming strategy to encourage foreign-born entrepreneurs‟ settlement,
business startups, and job creation.
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10. SUGGESTED SOLUTION
Suggested solution to fulfill the needs of the target group is to start a pilot accelerator for
companies led by foreign-born entrepreneurs; focusing on the high-growth companies.
The suggested accelerating program duration is 3 -6 months where the accelerator
management team will adopt a hands-on approach in their work with the companies, rather
than an advisory approach.
The goals of the pilot program will be to have a proof of concept for an accelerator that will
increase high-growth companies amongst existing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with
potential, bring foreign-born entrepreneurs closer to the Swedish innovation system, and
create a model for sustainable accelerator as a compliment to the existing incubators.
This suggested pilot program operates differently from other existing incubators and
accelerators, and proposes value in the following aspects:
The target audience is the experienced international entrepreneurs living in Sweden, who have
been running their own businesses before, have their own products/patents, have international
components in their businesses and already have the know-how of their businesses. The
target group of the accelerator is not the young start-ups with less experience.
The pilot accelerator will provide direct financial support to the accelerated companies during
their acceleration period, along with the standard services other accelerators provides.
The pilot accelerator program duration is much shorter to market than normal Swedish
incubators, it will be 3 or 6 months; depending on the needs of the accelerated company.
The pilot accelerator management team will have an operational role. They will adopt a handson approach in sales, business development and management.
The pilot accelerator program will have a simple and standardized setup that is flexible. The
venue location and size for example will be flexible and decided based on the nature, location
and number of the selected companies.
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Expected outcomes
This pilot project will show whether it is possible to create a long term sustainable accelerator
proving the concept of how can an immigrant-led high-growth company get to market faster
and grow through both capital injections and knowledge injections. It will also provide a picture
of how human capital in the region can be better utilised and how the existing innovation
system can be improved.
The pilot accelerator will focus on getting already existing businesses led by foreign-born
entrepreneurs to take the next step. Through a hands-on approach and an extensive network –
both in Sweden and internationally – the team will guide the foreign-born entrepreneurs
towards quick market entry in Scandinavia and in the international market.
Vision
This accelerator vision is to gather Skåne‟s skilled foreign-born entrepreneurs, making it the
foremost welcoming platform for them in Sweden. It is to become international entrepreneurs‟
first choice in the starting-up/starting-over process and to be referred to as the international
entrepreneurs‟ professional first choice in Sweden and later in Europe.
The accelerator‟s financial objective is to establish a steadily growing revenue stream and
positive cash flow.
Expected Benefits:
This pilot project will contribute to solving some of the current issues in Skåne such as:
Unemployment; the foreign-born entrepreneurs running companies tend to rely on their ethnic
resources even when they are working with mainstream economy, but especially if they are
having any forms of exchange with their home countries; hence, lowering the unemployment
rates among foreign-born workforce.
Diversity and inclusion in the innovation system; there are a lot of good initiatives in the region;
none of them directs high-growth businesses led by foreign-borns. Along with utilising the
existing resources Sweden received from abroad, including everyone in the innovation system
and allowing everyone to benefit of the existing innovation infrastructure is the key to broaden
the concept of innovation and to take it to a new level of growth.
Collaboration with current actors in the innovation system: This accelerator will be a source of
foreign-borns to existing incubator, as applying entrepreneurs who are still not ready to go to
market will be directed to the existing incubators.
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Sustainability of innovative players: The business model of the existing incubators provides no
motive for the incubator to produce sustainable profitable companies that will succeed after
they are out of the incubation period. A business-minded approach will be adopted by taking
equity in the accelerated companies which provides a strong mutual motive for the companies
and the accelerator, to exit successful companies within the program duration.
By building this accelerator, foreign-borns will contribute to the Swedish innovations and to the
founding of some of the business ventures, they will comprise critical components of small
business communities throughout the country, they will create jobs, represent a market
capitalization.
Foreign-born entrepreneurs are a source of strength, interjecting new life into communities.
They inject new vitality into the economy, opening new businesses, and creating new jobs,
creating new consumer bases,
Many of the foreign-born entrepreneurs have an international market and a client base which
can be a valuable resource when we consider increasing Sweden‟s exports.
Foreign-borns can play a major role in internationalization of the Swedish small and medium
enterprises (SMEs).
Foreign-borns higher education has a strong positive relationship to more exports of goods
and services in the companies they lead. Also, by match making between foreign-born
entrepreneurs companies and Swedish small and medium enterprises (SMEs), export of more
goods and services is expected, with an increase of the export of services to the foreignhomeland. The probability that a Swedish company exports services to a country is positively
associated with having a foreign-borns acting as an ambassador for their countries, enabling
more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to dare going to new markets.
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ANNEX 1: INTERVIEEWS AND CONSULTANTS
Interviewee Category
Name
Country
FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SWEDEN
1. Entrepreneur
Fairouz Al-Tamimi
Sweden-Jordan
2. Entrepreneur
Gabor Kiss
Sweden-Hungary
4. Entrepreneur
Johannes Nebel
Sweden-Germany
5. Entrepreneur
Ahmad Ghazawneh
Sweden-Palestine
7. Entrepreneur
Bilal Tufail Bhatti
Sweden-Pakistan
6. Entrepreneur
Talat Bhat
Sweden-Kashmir
12. Entrepreneur
Sonia Prado
Sweden-Switzerland
13. Entrepreneur
Keya Kar
Sweden-India
3. Entrepreneur
Mohamed Rizk
Sweden- Egypt
8. Entrepreneur
Kaiser ÖzHun
Sweden-China
9. Entrepreneur
Heydy Ledezma Leudo
Sweden-Colombia
10. Entrepreneur
Boris Demetrov
Sweden-Bulgaria
11. Entrepreneur
Nazim Al-khateeb
Sweden-Syria
FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS OUTSIDE SWEDEN
14. Entrepreneur
Inas Abdulhaq& Osama Naji
UAE-Dubai
15. Entrepreneur
Bakr Hussain and Diana Adas
UAE – Abu Dhabi
16. Entrepreneur
Tariq Hamadni
Saudi Arabia
17. Entrepreneur
Mamoud AJJallad
Oman
IMMIGRANTS COMMUNITIES
18. YallaTrappan
Ghada N.
Lebanon
19. Taxi 232323
KosorJaf
Turkey
INVESTORS ABROAD WHO WANT TO INVEST IN SWEDEN
20. Investor
Dr. Ali Hakami
Saudi Arabia
21. Investor
Hazim Annemre
UAE
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
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22. Migrationsverket
Maria Sheele
23. Arbetsförmedlingen
24. Invest In Skåne
MehranNajafi
Camilla Rejdvik-Pålsson
Ulf Åberg
25. Vinova
Sylvia Schwaag Serger
26. ALMI
Anders Norman
27. ALMI
Johan Olsen
28. Lund University
Per Eriksson
29. Lund University
Olle Frödin
30. Folkuniversittet – SFI
Anders Jonsson
Program
31. Journalist, expert and
writer on Somali
diaspora
Per Brinkemo
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INTERVIEWS WITH FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS LIVING IN SWEDEN.
Fairouz Al-Tamimi | 46 years | from Jordan
Entrepreneur Brief:
Fairouz is an engineer, with 20 years of experience. She has run her company in the Middle
east region in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates offering consultancy and training
in project management and business process management. She is a columnist and a
published author, with 3 books and an award winner for creative writing.
She has international expertise in software development, banking, non-governmental
organizations, education, arts and culture and she has worked with international companies
and organizations.
Company Brief:
Fairooz founded her first company (enskild firma) in 2013 in Lund to provide consulting and
training services for the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Then she co-founded
GTConsult.se (Handlesbolag), a company specialized in acquisitions and businesses
relocation to Sweden in 2014.
Problems:
• No process in place for self employed immigrants that she can follow after her arrival to
tell her what are the necessary steps she should take to start her company.
• She could not find enough information in English about what resources are available for
her.
• Only after 15 months she knew there were some SFI courses for entrepreneurs. She
also couldn‟t connect to the right business networks,
• Could not connect to Business network to find partners and clients
• Extension of residency permit is not clear (she doesn‟t know what is the criteria, what is
the required amount of revenue she should have generated during her work period in
Sweden to be accepted by the migration Board,
• Bureaucracy and poor communication with authorities (Migration Board) she could not
get a meeting with them.
• Long processing time of self employed immigrants (up to 21 months) and extensions of
residency permits (up to 24 months).
• Could not find a lawyer or legal advisor who combines the knowledge of companies‟
laws and immigration laws, or who know about the self employment immigration rules.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
• Yes, Fairooz contacted Ideon Innovation and Creative Plot, before she had a clear idea
about the different roles and other incubators. She didn‟t go to the incubator because
she thought the 24 months is too long for a ready to market business, and she needed to
get an income and could not afford even the low rent in the incubator.
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Needs:
1. Clear information,
2. Good communication with authorities
3. Agile processing of residency permits
4. Business network (clients and partners)
5. Investment
Gabor Kiss | 27 Years | Hungary
Entrepreneur Brief:
Gabor is a Civil Engineer from Hungary who came to Sweden in 2013 to do his Masters in
the Sten K Johnsson Entrepreneurs program and founded his Swedish company.
He won the “Best Student Entrepreneur” -2014 in Lund University. Was planning to leave
Hungary for good and stay in Sweden/Denmark but in December 2014 he left Sweden to
Netherlands where he is living now.
Company Brief:
AB, co- founded in August 2014 with a Swede Academic from Lund University. His
company is an IT company specialized in developing learning management Systems. The
main focus of this company is to bring tailored digital learning platforms to universities,
business incubators and private companies. The company is located in Lund, and currently
has 5 employees (2 full timers and 3 part-timers) from Hungary, Thailand and Bulgaria.
In the coming 2 years , Gabor is planning to develop 2 more products in partnership with
private companies, and he will employ 4 more employees
Problems:
Getting the personnummer was a challenge. For him, having a Swedish partner made it
much easier to register the company and start work. Many of his friends got rejected.
Entrepreneurs start their companies in Sweden but move out when they need to grow.
Maintaining a company in Sweden is very expensive due to taxation expensive
employment.
Did you have any contacts with any actors in the innovation system?
Gabor considered joining an incubator in U.K but not in Sweden, because he needed an
incubator that is not generic but specialized in Education Technology and all the incubators
he could find in Sweden were generic.
He also found that most of the EU incubators ask for 8-10% equity for 15K Eur
Needs:
• Easier process to get personnummer for Foreign-born Entrepreneurs
• Business Connections
• Matchmaking with the right Swedish Partners when needed
• Positioning with the right mentors, and the right business networks
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Johannes Nebel | 41 years | from Germany (2nd Generation)
Entrepreneur Brief:
Johannes is born in Sweden to a German father. He studies in Lund university, married and
settled with his family in Lund. He is a musician with a passion for sharing knowledge and
resources with Music lovers. This is why he started his company.
Company Brief:
An Aktiebolag. Established in 2005 in partnership with a friend to publish OPUS; a
periodical about classical music that is unique in Sweden. The company‟s specialty includes
organize/conduct concerts, lectures, musical tours abroad and other musical events. He
started a technical platform that is connecting institutions with artists, orchestras, and
Operas. It is a platform where the target group can upload their works, avail it for free to the
whole world, forever, accompanied by a huge archive of media, audio and different
components related to the producers.
Problems:
•
Economical Issues: Johannes has been investing lots of his company‟s resources in
building the technical platform; which is draining the company‟s finances, but he
believes in this product and wants to make it happen, but he has to work on it slowly
due to lack of financial resources, he can‟t allocate human resources and can‟t work
on it full time
•
He does not have a committed technical team, and he is not able to hire them too,
although it is a major component of this business, but he can‟t afford it.
•
Time Problem: He has been talking to orchestras and opera houses and artists about
the platform and he has to fulfill his promises to them that this product will be ready
within a reasonable time.
•
Internationalization: tried taking OPUS, the magazine to the international market but
could not due to lack of the correct network
•
Distribution: a big problem in Sweden, and bigger if he goes international. They don‟t
have the knowledge on how to go global, and doesn‟t know where to get such
knowledge
•
Classical music industry in Sweden isn‟t utilizing its full potential (actors in this
industry don‟t get advantage of the quality of their production).
•
Classical music industry in Sweden is conservative and heavy footed
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
No
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Needs:
• Investment: he needs an investor who‟s able to see the complex structures, doesn‟t have
a micro-eye for business, and has excellent connections in the copyright and licensing
business. A viable IT knowledge will enable the investor to see the potential and make
informed decisions based on the vision. Interest in the subject will be an advantage.
• Marketing and internationalization expert with knowledge of how to build the global
networks in this industry and how to internationalize a product
• Business development expert.
Ahmad Ghazawne | 30 years | From Palestine
Entrepreneur Brief:
Ahmad is an IT engineer from Palestine; he is now an Assistant Professor at IT University
of Copenhagen, he studies in Sweden and started several companies during and after his
studies. He lives in Lund with his family and planning to stay here for good.
Company Brief:
After two years of his arrival to Sweden, Ahmad started two software development
companies that hired software developers in Egypt, but closed the 2 companies later, then
he started a company that developed a platform for a driving school, offering online
education in 5 languages. It is still running well.
He also started GT Consult, to bridge between Swedish companies and companies in the
MENA region by facilitating acquisitions and partnerships. It is still relatively new.
He started a higher education services company to take the Swedish universities to the
MENA region and enable them to attract students through organizing exhibitions and
related events.
Finally, he started company to empower Arab skilled immigrants in Sweden and help them
get recruited. Company Legal format: Handles bolag, AB, Enskild firma
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
1. After two years of his arrival to Sweden, he didn‟t know the process and environment to
start a business, he tried but made many mistakes that caused him to lose significant
amount of money
2. It was very hard to start a company with limited financial resources, he had to keep his
job at the university in order to finance his companies, he can‟t work full time in his
businesses
3. High taxes is a problem for new companies
4. Running a business is complicated in Sweden, everything takes long time
5. High costs of employment and problems in finding the correct employees essential for
growth
6. Could not find the right business network or the right business partners
7. He thinks he would have done much better if he had a business coach helping him
develop the business concept and make the right decisions
8. Lack of interest of Swedish companies and universities to go to MENA Region
9. Strong Competition
10. Administrative resources (invoicing system, competent accountant)
11. The 50,000 kr needed to start a company is not affordable when you have limited
resources.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
He visited IDEON but he thought his business didn‟t fit in incubator because it was not
innovative but rather a traditional business.
Needs:
1. Financial support so he can work full time in his businesses
2. Tax exemptions for companies in their early stages
3. Good business network
4. Right Partners
5. Good access to employees who speak the Arabic language and can work for him in
the MENA region
6. Raising awareness of small Swedish companies about MENA region and show them
the available business opportunities
7. Business coaching/mentorship
Bilal Tufail Bhatti |35 Years | from Pakistan
Entrepreneur Brief:
Bilal Tufail Bhatti is a textile engineer who studied his Masters in Borås university, when he
came to Sweden he had 4 years of experience.
Company Brief:
Outso is a one-stop-shop, supplying promotional and corporate textiles to distributors and
advertising bureaus throughout Europe. They do the production in India and Pakistan and
they deliver to customers in Europe. This company was in an incubator. Bilal has a vision
that in the coming few years, his company will be a 100 MSEK of value.Company Legal
format is AB since 2011.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
• Finding Customers
• Hiring, very expensive. If he has support for hiring then he‟d succeeded more.
• No support for English speakers entrepreneurs,
• Accountants don‟t have the experience to deal with the “importing business”
• Finding a Swedish Partner; if he had one then everything would have been easier and
he‟d have grown the business in a different more smooth way. He thinks Swedes are
reluctant to partner with immigrants, so if this fear was not there, both sides would benefit
• Couldn‟t make more promotion for his solutions because he lacks the money for that.
• Immigrants don‟t reach out to innovation system actors because they are not comfortable
with the system
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
Yes, Bilal‟s company started in an incubator but he thinks that advisors in the incubators
should be people who ran their own businesses so they understand the real problems he is
facing
Needs:
• Swedish investor , thinking of 5-6 MSEK at least
• Needs to network with similar entrepreneurs coming from same background
• Needs to be connected to international resources such as designers
• Business advisors who has been running her/his own company so they understand the
real problems he is facing
Talat Bhat | 43 years |from Kashmir
Entrepreneur Brief:
Talat is a Kashmiri entrepreneur who studied in Sweden, when he came to Sweden 17
years ago. He is a filmmaker and an IT expert.
Talat started his business because he could not get a job. He has family here so he is
planning to stay in Sweden.
Company Brief:
an enskild firma that is providing production services in music, film and video, Consulting in
music, entertainment and the entertainment industry, entertainment activities primarily
within the music industry, publishing film, sound and light installations.
Problems:
• Can‟t work full time in his company, because he has to take small jobs in IT in order to
survive
• Can‟t employ anyone to grow the business because this is expensive and he can‟t afford it
• getting funds is really hard for immigrants especially those working in creative business
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
No, he did not feel he fits there.
NNeeds:
1. Investment
2. Business Networks
3. International business connections
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Sonia Prado | 36 years | From Switzerland
Entrepreneur Brief:
Sonia is an entrepreneur half Swiss half Spanish. She arrived in 2011 to Malmo with her
Sambo who works for ESS. She started her company after failure to get a job in Sweden.
She is planning to stay in Sweden for good, so she started her business.
Company Brief:
Sonia founded her company (Enskild Firma) in 2014, in Malmo to conduct international
events in Sweden. She speaks 5 languages and her network of exhibitors is in France,
Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Italy. She wanted to provide business services for
congresses & events and organizes conventions and trade shows. She is trying to attract
exhibitors from 5 countries to make events in Sweden. The language is a big barrier for her
target exhibitors in the food and events industry in these 5 countries as they are not English
speakers. As someone who speaks their language, she works to can help them organize
their exhibitions here.
Problems:
• Lack of business network (Customers and service providers)
• Investment: she had to invest lots of her own money and still is.
• Language barrier that causes bad experience with authorities
She needs business mentor
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
She contacted Drivhuset who helped her in small services she needed.
She contacted Almi for mentors but could not afford to pay their fees.
She contacted nyforetagarcentrum but then she had a bad experience with her contact
there and found lack of flexibility and poor communication that made her not proceed.
Needs:
• Business Network
• Smart investment; someone who understands her business and in the industry and have
the right network
• Flexible and welcoming officers in the authorities offices
• Help from authorities in attracting the international exhibitors
• Business Mentor
Keya Kar| 35 years | from India
Entrepreneur Brief:
Keya has postgraduate diploma in Indian Classic Dance and had worked for five years
before she arrives to Lund with her family where her husband works for Ericsson and they
are planning to stay for good.
Company Brief:
Keya Kar Company (Enskildnäringsidkare)
Keya founded her company in 2013, in Lund to provide education in Classical Indian dance
(classes, workshop and performances) in addition to cultural education.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
• Lack of financial resources to be able to make her original plans materialize.
• Difficulties in finding clients
• Language barrier: She can‟t seek funding because she is often not able to fill in the
applications and to read the requirements
• The business concept should be adjusted to fit the Swedish context
• No Space for her rehearsals and classes
• No Business networks
• She is not good at marketing her work and doesn‟t know how to do it. In India, she built a
reputation that was her marketing with a need to do more.
• Does not know how to handle accounting and can‟t afford to pay for an accountant
• She had experience with Skatteverket officer who was not competent and could not
answer her questions or provide her with information she needed to know.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
Yes, but she decided not to get incubated because she could not afford the costs and she
didn‟t see the value
Needs:
• Investment
• Business networks (clients)
• Funding raising help, with the knowledge and applications
• Business Mentor and coach
• Space for her rehearsals and classes
• Marketing specialist
• Administrative services (accounting)
• More accurate information from officers in authorities offices (Skatteverket)
Mohamed Rizk | 30 Years | from Egypt
Entrepreneur Brief:
Egyptian Engineer graduated from the German University in Cairo, had worked with
international companies before he comes to Sweden. Came to study in the Masters of
Entrepreneurship Program in Lund University. Mohamed had a grant by ALMI investment,
Won “Leap Frogs Grant”
Company Brief:
Company registration is in progress. However, he started working already ion developing
(with his partner and team( an interactive presentation tool. The company has 1 full-timer
and 2 part-timers; nationalities of employees are: Egyptian, German and Swede. He has a
Swedish Partner who understands the law of companies, business environment and
already into the innovation system. His company entered an agreement with Lund
University Innovation System Partnership &Investment(LUIS) for further investment
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
Technical problem with the product development
Students from non-EU have a problem when they change their status from Students to Self
employed.
He had to change the product because of the difference of expectations between Germany
and Skane.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
Yes, he is part of SKJ International Entrepreneurship Program
Needs:
 Investment,
 Help with employment,
 Office space and admin assistance
Kaiser Öz Hun | 45 years | from China
Entrepreneur Brief :
Kaiser Oz Hun, a Journalist, writer and Artist, speaks 4 languages, originally from UyghurChina, living in Sweden since 15 years, married to an Azerbijani woman and his 2 children
are born and living in Sweden. He spends 50% of his time in Budapest and half in Lund.
Kaiser is a PHD holder in History of Arts, educated in Lund University and UK universities.
Company Brief:
Kaiser started an Enskild firma in Sweden but when he decided to grow his services and
establish a college to teach English to foreign students (Chinese Students who want to
study English and History of Art in Europe) coming from China, he went to Budapest to start
his own company there.
Kaiser found it hard to get a job as a professor in university because he didn‟t master the
Swedish language perfectly. So he chose to start his company due to difficulties in getting a
job and being far from labor market. Limited Liability Company in Budapest,
Problems:
1. He didn‟t have the network to start his business here. He couldn‟t find the right partners
here to start the business with
2. He had limited financial resources that wasn‟t enough to start his business
3. Salaries are very high here that he can‟t afford hiring teachers, minimum salary by
regulations of ministry of education are higher than his business feasibility allows.
4. Tuition set by regulations in Sweden is very expensive for students, in Budapest, he offer
the tuition in half the price.
5. Language is a barrier especially for those who come to Sweden at an older age.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
No. He didn‟t know anything about them.
Needs:
• Investment
• Business Networks and partners
• Tax exemption in the early years of company‟s life
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Heydy Ledezma Leudo | 35 years |from Colombia
Entrepreneur Brief:
Heydy is from Colombia, who arrived here to 7 years, She is an industrial Engineer with
Masters in Business Administration, currently studying here with Sten K Johnsson in
Masters program for Foreign-born Entrepreneurs. She had a company in Colombia running
it with her sister, import and export, of women handmade products.
Her project is coming from her personal story, as she is allergic to milk, egg, flour, and sea
food. She found a gap in Lund when it comes to offering all allergy free products. It can also
target diabetic people.
Her customers as people with Allergies (18% of Lund population) and health-conscious
people. She wants to establish B-B bakery starting in Lund growing to Skane. Applying a
franchising concept.
Problems:
 She doesn‟t have money, she doesn‟t have money for registering a
handlesbolag(50,000),
 She can‟t get a loan from bank, doesn‟t have a previous work history in Sweden so the
bank won‟t loan her, she sees the loan as the only way to proceed with her project
 you have to find the local, get healthy permits, you have to show the place and then
they‟ll decide if this is good enough to give the permission
 She has direct contacts , she became member in allergic forbjuden and she thinks that
network is good enough
 looking for a suitable supplier ( 1 in Sweden, 2 in UK, 1 in Spain)
 finding the correct partner, finding the correct employees for growth
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
She visited NFC looking how they can help her, they asked for biz plan, still didn‟t do that.
She thinks they can help her with contacts.
Needs:
 Investment
 Network
 Mentor to help her develop the business concept.
Boris Demetrov | 52 years | from Bulgaria
Entrepreneur Brief :
Attorney at Law, Legal Consultant with more than 25 years attorney experience in
Commercial Law, Litigation, Funding, Expert in HORIZON 2020.
Specialties:
Intellectual Proprietorship Auditing, Internal Audit Law, Legal Auditing and Compliance,
Commercial and Corporate Law, Competition Law and Consumer Law, Public Procurement,
Environmental Law, Administrative Law and Procedure, Intellectual Property Rights.
Company Brief:
Failed to register his company after 6 months of his arrival to Sweden in Sep 2014. In Jan
2015 he decided to leave Sweden.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
1. Language (although he speaks perfect English but he faced many problems with
Skatteverket)
2. Slow process and lack of competent officers in the agencies he dealt with like
Skatteverket. He got wrong information and his officer made mistake in submitting his
papers which resulted in complications that prevented him from getting his personal
number, hence opening a bank account and registering his company.
3. Social and Business Network
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
He visited Almi to seek advice. He tried to connect to migration board but failed
Needs:
1. English Speaking attaché for self-employed persons where they can discuss difficulties
they are facing and understand what is needed from them and helps them meet the official
requirements without delays.
2. Business and Social Network
Nazim Al-Khateeb | 50 years old | From Syria
Entrepreneur Brief:
Nazim is a Syrian businessman; he paid $25,000for an immigration office in Amman where
he was living, to prepare his application as a self employee and was planning to get his
family here and stay for good due to the instabilities in Syria; his home country.
Nazim is and has been running his own publishing company and stationary retail business
in Syria all his life. He has international connections and service providers all over the world
specifically in China.
Company Brief:
Failed to start a company in Sweden and left back to Jordan where he lives with his family.
He was planning to start a retail business exporting and importing from Lund.
Problems:
• Language barrier; he hired persons to register his company, rent an apartment for his
family and to register kids at schools. He was cheated.
• He needed to understand the Swedish market and get some information about the
demand, but he could not find anyone to help him get this info.
• He felt lost and left alone, no one provided help to him and he decided eventually to leave
Sweden for good.
Did you have any contact with any actors in the innovation?
No, he didn‟t know anything about them
Needs:
• Business coach who speaks his language and can help him understand the Swedish
market
• Source of information about the market, regulations and taxes
• Accelerated language course for business.
• Business Network and partners in Sweden
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Ghada | 51 years| From Lebanon
Interviewee Brief:
Ghada is a tailor at Yallatrappan since 5 years. Arrived to Sweden 26 years ago, and at that
time she had an experience in her field of more than 12 years. Her husband is an engineer
who worked as a bus driver but stopped work due to illness. Gada tried to start her own
small business 3 times and failed due to different reasons. Gada is a mother of five all born
here. Her son (28 years) studied Media and Human rights but could not find a job in
Sweden so he accepted a job in Denmark. Her daughter (25 years) is an industrial engineer
who studied in Sweden but could not find a job, so she moved to UK with her husband who
also studied media and also could not find a job in Sweden.
Problems:
• Language
• Lack of understanding business requirements,
• Couldn‟t find business premises that has a suitable rent,
• Lack of financial support
• Competition
• Regulations are discriminating: Her 2 daughter think they could not find jobs because
they were veiled. Also, her children feel they are “second-class citizens”, according to
her, because despite that they have studied in Sweden, native speakers, acquired
excellent results in university, none of them was able to get a job. Also, Gada thinks that
specific fields (like Media) have major barrier infront of immigrants. Gada did not get any
help from any authority to start the business
Needs:
1. Business training (laws, regulations) and mentorship
2. Financial support
3. Inclusive regulations and laws
Kosor | 42 years | From Turkey
Interviewee Brief:
Kosor is a taxi driver at Taxi 23 2323, he came to Sweden when he was 27 years old, he
was among a group smuggled into Sweden during a 2 years travel, and he had to live
hidden for another 2 years before he could stay, when he got permit to stay, he took some
long time to get into the Swedish system. He took lots of time recovering from his journey
consequences, psychological and physical. Kosor studied as a chemical engineer for 4
years in Turkey. He is still very sad that he didn't use his education. Today he has 2 kids
and he needs to support his family rather than look to fulfill his dream.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Problems:
• Kosor wants to use his education, but it took too long time before he came in to the
Swedish system ( education was not accurate/ up to date)
• Didn't know where to seek help or advice
• More focus on survival than using education or developing carrier
2. INTERVIEWS WITH POTENTIAL CANDIDATES - ENTREPRENEURS ABROAD.
Osama and Inas Al-Naji | 42 years | from Dubai
Interviewee Brief:
Osama and Inas are a Jordanian couple owning a company that works in Dubai - United
Arab Emirates. They are both engineers (architecture) and their company works in
architecture and interior design.
The Couple is in the process of immigrating to Sweden with their 4 Children (age 4-16)
They need to partner with a Swedish company, and buy part of the company as an
immigration process requirement.
The couple has enough financial resources to survive for as long as needed but the couple
is worried that the long process time.
They want to open a new market, outreach in the Arab Gulf: Dubai, Abu Dhabi for their
company-to-be, and they want to represent this Swedish company via a regional office in
Dubai.
Needs:
• Partner
• Business Network (partners and service providers)
• Help in acquisition of the right company, negotiation and due diligence
• Help with the language until they arrive to Sweden and learn the language
• Help with business and family relocation services
Tariq Hamadni | 40 years | from Saudi Arabia
Interviewee Brief
Tariq is a telecom engineer living in Saudi Arabia, running his own company,
He wants to start the immigrating process to Sweden with his family.
He needs to partner with a Swedish company, and buy part of the company as an
immigration process requirement.
His company in Saudi Arabia has a long-term contract with the ministry of health and he
needs to take Swedish expertise to Saudi Arabia, products and services in the field of
Mobile Apps to develop health services.
He wants to open the Saudi market for the Swedish company and be their representative
there.
He is worried from what he read about the long processing time for the application and he is
more worried about the extension process that will prevent him from travelling between
Sweden and Saudi until the long processing time ends (up to 24 months)
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Needs:
• Good Partner
• Service providers willing to travel to Saudi
• Business Network (partners and service providers)
• Help in acquisition of the right company, negotiation and due diligence
• Help with the language until they arrive to Sweden and learn the language
• Help with business and family relocation services
Bakr Hussain & Diana Adas | 48 &38 Years | from Abu Dhabi
Interviewee Brief
Bakr and Diana are a couple living in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Bakr is entrepreneur, an
engineering graduate form USA, and an IT specialist for more than 24 years, and he has
worked for Nokia-Finland and later for a Swedish company in the 2000s, hence he speaks
Swedish. Diana is a lawyer, translator and a creative writer, with more than 12 years of
experience. Bakr has lived in Sweden before and wants to bring his wife and kids to
Sweden. They want to start the immigrating process to Sweden with their 2 children (7 and
4 years old).
They want to establish a Swedish company in the area of IT but they have limited financial
resources to support themselves in the early days after arrival to Sweden.
Bakr wants to use his client base in the Arab Gulf market to build his Swedish company.
The couple is worried that the process might take a long time and that their limited financial
resources might not be enough until the business starts generating income.
Needs:
• Financial support in the early stage of establishing the company.
• Investment in the company
• Business Network (partners and clients)
• Help in the process of establishing the company, and get familiar with the companies laws
• Help with business and family relocation services
Mamoud AJJallad | 44 Years| From Oman
Interviewee Brief:
Mahmoud and his wife are a couple living in Oman and are both Software engineers. He
has more than 20 years of experience (in big telecom operator companies as Customer
Relationship Director) , and she has more than 15 years of experience as an Oracle expert.
They want to start the immigrating process to Sweden with their 3 children (7-15 years old).
They want to establish a Swedish company in the area of IT but they don‟t want to wait for a
very long time before they move to Sweden because they want their children to gain as
much as possible of the new country‟s education and culture. As a plan-B, they are thinking
of immigrating to Australia they find it very far away from their home country in the Middle
East.
Mahmud has established several companies in the Arab region and he has a great client
base in the Arab Gulf that he wants to utilize his Swedish company. The couple has
enough financial resources to survive for as long as needed but the couple is worried that
the long process time.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
Needs:
• Financial support in the early stage of establishing the company.
• Investment in the company
• Business Network (partners and clients)
• Help in the process of establishing the company, and get familiar with the companies laws
• Help with business and family relocation services
INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS INTERESTED IN INVESTING IN SKANE
Hazim Annemre | from Jordan
INVESTOR INFO & INTEREST
Hazim is a Jordanian investor who has companies in the Arab Gulf (Dubai and Saudi
Arabia) and Canada. He is a U.S graduate IT engineer and had more than 25 years
experience in the region (Saudi and UAE). He wants to invest in a Swedish company in the
areas of IT, Telecom infrastructure, management (and) consulting. He wants to use a
Swedish company as a resourcing partner of professionals/experts, services and products.
He already has companies in Dubai and Riyadh and wants to utilize the Swedish company‟s
knowledge, products/services and resources to give his companies in Dubai and KSA a
cutting edge
He wants to use his Arab Gulf client base and connections to make his Swedish company
partner grow.
INVESTOR OFFER
• To open new market, outreach in the Arab Gulf: KSA and UAE
• Represent a Swedish company in KSA, potentially open a regional office
• Allow Swedish company to enter the tendering process in KSA, where only local partner
can do
Fund the Swedish company projects in the Arab Gulf until they are paid back by the
governmental agency that contracted them.
Dr. Ali Hakami | Saudi Arabia
INVESTOR INFO & INTEREST
Ali H. is a Saudi educator and businessman working in KSA, in his own company
specialized in health and education. He is a PHD holder in Psychology (U.S) and has
worked for long years as one of the top executives in the ministry of Education in his
country. He ran a governmental company responsible for all procurements related to public
education ad he has an excellent network of high profile Saudi governmental officers in
ministry of education, health and labor.
Investor wants to open the Saudi market for an innovative Swedish product and/or service
in the field of health and/or education. He is looking for a premier contract.
Dr. Ali has a company in Riyadh and wants to partner with a Swedish company to give his
company in KSA a cutting edge.
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AN ACCELERATOR FOR FOREIGN-BORN ENTREPRENEURS IN SKÅNE
INVESTOR OFFER
Partnership
Represent a Swedish company in KSA, open regional office.
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ANNEX 2: REFERENCES
A LOOK INSIDE ACCELERATORS
Clarysse, Bart, Mike Wright, and Jonas Van Hove. A LOOK INSIDE ACCELERATORS. Rep.
N.p.: Nesta, 2015. Print.
The Open Skåne 2030
Skåne's Regional Development Strategy (2014 Publications) - REGION SKÅNE
Territorial Reviews: Skåne
OECD (2012), OECD Territorial Reviews: Skåne, Sweden 2012, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264177741-en
International Migration Outlook 2012
OECD (2012), International Migration Outlook 2012, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/migr_outlook-2012-en
The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in OECD Countries
Liebig, T. and J. Mo (2013), “The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in OECD Countries”,
International Migration Outlook 2013, OECD Publishing, Paris,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/migr_outlook-2013-6-en.
Entreprenörskap I Sverige- Nationell Rapport 2013
Thulin, Per, Pontus Braunerhjelm, CarinHolmquist, and Maria Adenfelt. Entreprenörskap I
Sverige- Nationell Rapport 2013.Rep. Örebro: Entreprenörskapsforum, 2013. Print.
Accelerating Success: A Study of Seed Accelerators and Their Defining Characteristics
Barrehag, Lisa, Alexander Fornell, Gustav Larsson, Viktor Mårdström, Victor Westergård, and
Samuel Wrackefeldt.Accelerating Success: A Study of Seed Accelerators and Their Defining
Characteristics. Thesis. Chalmers University of Technology, 2012. Gothenburg: Division of
Innovation Engineering and Management, 2012. Print.
Internationalization Competence of SMEs
Achtenhagen, Leona. InternationalizationCompetenceof SMEs.Rep. © Entreprenörskapsforum,
2011, 2011. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.
Satz, Lotta. "Egenföretagare Får Vänta Länge På Uppehållstillstånd."Sydsvenskan.
Sydsvenskan, 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
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Entrepreneurship and Migrants
OECD (2010), “Entrepreneurship and Migrants”, Report by the OECD Working Party onSMEs
and Entrepreneurship, OECD.
An International Innovation strategy for Skåne
Skåne Research and Innovation Council (FIRS), Sounding Board for Innovation in Skåne (SIS)
Skånesregionalainnovationssystem: En funktionsanalys
Daniel Hallencreutz, Peter Bjerkesjö, IntersectaABi samarbete med Carin Daal, Region Skåne
Recruiting Immigrant Workers
OECD (2011), Recruiting Immigrant Workers: Sweden 2011, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264000000-en
Företagare med utländsk bakgrund – fakta & statistik 2012 – Tillväxtverket
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