| In the global economy, the pressure on companies to compete is greater than ever before. The survival of many businesses depends on them identifying new global business opportu-nities but these are not always clear for companies only familiar with their domestic market. |
 Swedish Trade Council (Exportrådet) Founded: 1972 Publicly listed: No Number of employees: 430 Key business area(s): To promote, support and create opportunities for Swedish exports Telephone: +46 8 783 85 00 Website Contact |
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| Giving
small business a global voice
The Swedish Trade Council (Exportrådet) aims to help Swedish companies adapt to this changing economic climate. Jointly owned by the Swedish Government and the Swedish industry, it has 42 offices in 35 countries with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in a number of places in Sweden, such as Gothenburg, Malmö and Umeå. Launching a new initiative The Trade Council’s Tina Paulson explains the aims of the organisation. “We make it easier for Swedish companies to do business abroad. We concentrate on helping businesses to identify their export opportunities, establish themselves in new markets and to expand in other markets,” says Paulson. As part of this aim, the Council has launched a new initiative that aims to promote Swedish companies at International Trade Fairs and Exhibitions. The small business dedicated programme aims to help Swedish businesses find a voice at the various events that take place relevant to their industry. “We aim to help smaller Swedish companies – our main target group consists of companies with less than 50 employees or a turnover under 50 million SEK. Our initial consultation service is free so that we can assess exactly what we can offer the company,” explains Paulson. This programme has a number of useful benefits in promoting small com-panies abroad. A much greater presence “One of the major benefits is that we can provide companies with a much greater presence at the trade fairs because we have our own sizeable exhibition area booked. This gives the company a much greater chance of recognition at the events rather than just a small stand that visitors may overlook.” But as most companies know, putting together an exhibition stand can be a time consuming and laborious process. Paulson says she has seen many companies fall into the trap of registering an interest in an exhibition but then failing to be properly prepared for the event itself when it is suddenly upon them. This is why the programme offers advisory service with topics like identifying the suitable trade fair, estimating costs for trade fair partici-pation or other company-adapted consulting in trade fair technique for less experienced companies. The programme also includes what the Trade Council calls The Quality Assurance Programme: “Before - during - after the trade fair participation” “Our Quality Assurance Programme involves taking companies through the whole process by systematically step-to-step planning and making the targets for the trade fair participation concrete. We also are consulting with the companies after the fair to find out how they felt about the whole thing and whether they reached their targets.” In addition to this, the Trade Fair Programme also offers training courses for company staff to learn how to have an effective presence at a Trade Fair. Adds Paulson: “We offer a one day course on Trade Fair technique which is open to single companies or companies in group. This encompasses everything from identifying targets, budgeting, what to think about when planning the stand and not to forget the very important follow-up phase after the trade fair.” An enthusiastic reception As regards Biotechnology companies, Paulson says that there has already been an enthusiastic reception to the programme. “We’ve currently got eight Biotech-nology companies consulting with us for our joint stand at the Biotechnica Fair in Hanover between 9-11 October.” Significantly, Paulson adds that interest from the sector is rapidly increasing too. “We’ve noticed an increasing number of Biotech companies are interested. I think Sweden in particular is making great leaps forward in this field because we have a good level of technical knowhow and knowledge in the country. In recognition of the rapid growth in the sector, the Swedish Bioscience Programme was formed early this year. As an industry sector programme with-in the Swedish Trade Council, it will focus on promoting and assisting companies in their internationalisation processes.” As important
as ever |
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