LONDON — Sweden’s economy has suffered, in many ways, the same travails as the rest of Europe: crushing inflation and recession, and the prospect of little growth.
According to the criteria of
However, the Nordic country has a stable of high-tech entrepreneurs that is the envy of its neighbors. Spotify and Skype are globally recognised brands. Klarna, a financial technology company, and King Digital Entertainment, the creator of video game giant Candy Crush, are other local tech powerhouses.
That entrepreneurial record has been attracting renewed attention at a time when anxieties are growing about Europe’s ability to compete with the high-tech advances of the United States and China.
Europe has been better known for its aggressive regulation of foreign technology companies than for creating its own businesses. Critics of European technology policies complain of less access to venture capital and a cultural aversion to risk taking. Tech workers from Europe have often moved to the United States rather than starting companies at home.
But Sweden has had a different experience. It has produced more tech unicorns — startups valued at more than $1 billion — per capita than any other country in Europe after tiny Estonia, according to a report by Atomico, an investment firm. And it ranked fourth in the number of unicorns, after Britain, Germany and France, whose populations are six to nine times larger.
Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, which analyses the “competitiveness crisis” of the European Union, pointed to Sweden as an example to follow. Its technology sector is twice as productive as the EU average and offers strong social programs, he said. Swedish companies have always been driven to look for customers outside the country, which has a population of just 10 million, said Asa Zetterberg, managing director of TechSverige, a trade organization.
In interviews, a dozen entrepreneurs, investors and economists agreed that one ingredient of Sweden’s success was initiatives in the 1990s that gave a broad swath of the public access to personal computers and broadband.
Analysts also point to a tradition in Sweden of public and private investment in research and development, which currently accounts for 3.4 percent of total output, one of the highest percentages in Europe.
Founders and investors also said Sweden’s extensive social security network plays a crucial role in encouraging entrepreneurs to take risks.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, founder of Klarna, said his immigrant parents were often unemployed when he was a child. Still, she was able to get medical care, attend top schools and have a computer at home from the start “without having any money.”
An effective “welfare system” is the best way for the Swedish government to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, said Fredrick Cassel, a partner at Creandum, a venture capital firm that has invested in Spotify and Klarna.
“You can afford to take risks, you won’t be out on the street” if you failhe said.
#Swedens #technological #success #envious #Europe
