
Being one of the most competitive economies in the world, the Scandinavian nation, offers Indian firms access to an innovation ecosystem unlike no other. Sweden is one of the world's most innovative countries and is home to the third highest unicorns per capita, globally. This is not surprising if we stop to think that Sweden spends over 3 per cent of its GDP on supporting research and development and has a robust system of integrated innovation ecosystem by bringing research closer to business in its triple helix model of innovation. By committing to be fossil-free by 2040, Sweden leads in country commitment and delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals. Combing quality of life, free education, equality, talent, diversity, technology, ease of doing business and a focus on start-ups and innovation are just a few of the many advantages of investing in Sweden. 69 per cent of the country is covered by forests. The early extraction of the vast Swedish natural resources combined with the huge long distances for transport created eco-systems in all types of equipment and tools used for drilling and transportation, including automotive and components industries. Similarly, ore extraction, one of the earliest industrial sectors in the country (traced back to 1000 CE), created powerhouses like Atlas Copco and the first business finance bank SEB, both founded or owned by the Wallenberg group since the mid-19th century. According to Computer Sweden, Sweden will have a supply gap of 60,000 engineers by 2020. This opens the door to international partnership in the workforce. During 2018, 75 per cent of the work visas in the IT sector came from Indians, making the group one of the most important partners to Swedish companies in the IT sector, which has a major positive impact on the Swedish industry. Invest India, The Government of India's export arm, took a start-up delegation to Stockholm TechWeek in September 2018 and by September 2019, four more delegations to and from India would have taken place within the start-up/scale-up ecosystem. Indian companies are both searching for technologies but also providing Sweden with engineers and talent. For the tourism industry, Indian's are the fastest growing tourist group visiting Sweden, with the number of nights stayed in Sweden increasing by 155 per cent between 2008 - 2016, and by 62 per cent from 2016 to 2017. The word is mainly spread by Swedish government agency Visit Sweden's push in India, a direct flight from Delhi to Stockholm and all the engineers and other Indians living in Sweden inviting relatives to visit. “Sweden is an incredible place to work with its stunning nature, great welfare system and an amazing work-life balance. Gender equality is the core of Swedish society resulting in a progressive and safe society. World's first digital economy that gets its fuel from innovation and collaboration in every aspect of life,” says Ms Richa Rai of TechMahindra.