Skeleton takes part in the official visit of the Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and IT, Mr. Andres Sutt, to Sweden

On November 8th and 9th, Skeleton's Head of Communications and Policy Arnaud Castaignet took part in the official visit of the Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and IT, Mr. Andres Sutt, to Sweden.

The goal of this official visit organised by the Estonian Investment Agency was to strengthen business ties between Sweden and Estonia and introduce Estonia’s leading companies involved in innovation and green transition. Together with Skeleton, representatives from Auve Tech, Roofit Solar, Solita, Proekspert, Incap, Solarstone, PowerUP Energy, UP Catalyst, and Ridango were part of the delegation. Two cities were visited: Stockholm and Västerås, one of Sweden’s main industrial hubs.

The ‘Swedish model’ is often praised as an excellent example to follow in terms of industrial innovation and sustainability. Sweden is known as a global leader in innovation with a highly skilled labour force. The country has a robust industrial and manufacturing base (the industry represents around 22% of Sweden’s GDP and 17.7% of its jobs), which combines traditional industries (automotive, chemicals, mining…) and new sectors such as high-tech and green technologies. Sweden is one of the few countries in Europe that invests more than 3% of its GDP in R&D, fostering a strong innovation culture, and in upskilling and reskilling of workers.

The first day of the visit was spent in Västerås. Västerås is known for its industrial heritage and present, hosting offices, production sites, and R&D centres of several Swedish and international companies such as ABB, Hitachi Energy, Northvolt, Alstom, GE Power, Harju Elekter, Mälarenergi, and more. Alongside leaders from Auve Tech, Ridango, Mälarenergi, Roofit solar, I participated in a panel discussion on green transition moderated by members of Electrification Hub, an organization gathering expertise to accelerate the development of electrification, energy, and electromobility in Sweden. Following this panel, I had the chance to engage with representatives from Alstom, Northvolt, Harju Elekter (who delivered a presentation on smart grids), and Region Västmanland, on future trends in electrification and battery technology, and join Mr. Andres Sutt for a visit of ABB’s factory.

The second day of the visit brought us to Stockholm, where we met with Urban ICT Arena, Epicenter Stockholm, Ignite Sweden, and Kista Science City for a day of meetings dedicated to cooperation between public institutions, major companies, and start-ups.

Overall, it was very inspiring to know more about Sweden’s strategy to keep being a powerhouse of innovation, with a strong focus on sustainability. In fact, it was very impressive to see that, from top industrial companies to local municipalities, start-ups and accelerators, everyone has in mind the fight against climate change as the key priority. We could also see that there is no conflict between the old and the new: traditional industries can lead on sustainability and co-create new solutions, working together with start-ups.

As evidenced by Skeleton’s existing collaboration with major Swedish industrial companies, there are a lot of synergies between Swedish and Estonian businesses. Sweden is an industrial and high-tech manufacturing leader, but Estonia can share its highly entrepreneurial mindset, which is particularly visible in the nascent and fast-developing cleantech sector and the future unicorns from the delegation. Indeed, Estonian entrepreneurs are known for being capable of thinking creatively, being open, bold, and curious, and having self-motivation, some of the skills that are particularly needed in the global fight against climate change. While the two countries are complementary, they have also a lot in common: a shared history, geography (Tallinn is the closest capital city to Stockholm), cultural ties, an accessible ecosystem willing to support newcomers, and a human-sized capital city. Sure, Stockholm is bigger than Tallinn, but you can very easily meet other entrepreneurs, potential partners, or even bump into famous Swedish Football player Zlatan Ibrahimović, which actually happened to me during this trip. Of course, we all know it isn't Stockholm that is small, it is Zlatan that is huge.