Our member Randstad, staffing and recruiting agency, is looking for a Dutch speaking financial assistant for its client Sandvik Materials Technology in Kista (Stockholm area). If you are interested, please read more here:
Last week, our event Challenges for Migrant Entrepreneurs in Sweden took place at the Dutch Embassy in Stockholm. The Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mrs Ines Coppoolse inspired with her introduction on the topic of the evening. Natasha Webster and Karen Haandrikman, researchers from Stockholm University, presented their research about the challenges that women migrant entrepreneurs face when starting their business in Sweden. We then listened to the personal stories of migrant entrepreneurs Virginie Garcia, and Wendy Heijne, exemplifying the research on its topics and emphasizing the need of being persistent and having a certain drive towards one’s goals. Being a bit “unswedish”. The second panel with policy experts Sam Yildirim, Elisabeth Suzuki, Petya Thorne and Edgar Haverkamp went more into finding answers and opportunities, and the audience of around 45 people was engaged and eager to discuss with the panel. The evening as a whole was moderated by Ruben Brunsveld who asked thought-provoking questions and engaged the audience in a great way. Following the panel and the discussions, it seems Sweden as a country has some particular obstacles to overcome for migrant entrepreneurs. One of the discussions focused on the example of the mastery of Swedish language as being critical in order to be successful as a migrant entrepreneur in Sweden. We look forward to continue the discussions and follow the development in this important field. We thank the Embassy of the Netherlands, Stockholm University, the involved entrepreneurs and policy experts for making this event come true and all guests for coming and for engaging in the discussions! /Els Berkers and Joep van Ool A seminar report with more thorough information about this topic can be found at the website of the Dutch embassy. Read here. Louis Hedberg recently joined the Dutch Chamber as an SME-member. We were curious to find out more about his connection with the Dutch, and about the brewery that he has started on the west coast of Sweden. Who is Louis Hedberg? I was born in Gothenburg but I am now living with my Dutch wife Brigitte and daughter Sofia in Täby. After business studies at Handelshögskolan in Gothenburg (30 years ago!) I got my first job at Ericsson in the Netherlands. After a couple of years, I joined upcoming Nokia and I also spent some time in Austria before arriving in Stockholm in 2004. Since 2016 I run my own business as start-up entrepreneur and investor. You are the co-founder of a brewery on the island of Marstrand. Please tell us more about Inlands Bryggeri. Inlands is a craft beer brewery located on the Swedish west coast. Everything we do has a local historic touch and our labels tell tales of interesting people and events that once took place. The label of our "Anno 1621 Ljus Ale" even includes a reference to the Dutch who helped to build the city of Gothenburg. This beer is a celebration of the founding of the city almost 400 years ago. We brew a full range of beer, from light lager to full blood double IPA and even a Porter. Our beer can be bought at Systembolaget (online as well) and at local restaurants and local shops (class II only). We also organise frequent tastings and tours of the Brewery. If you are interested, check our calendar on www.inlandsbryggeri.se for dates. We are very active in the local community with all kind of events and activities and with Marstrand being a major tourist location we look forward to a very intensive summer. How did you come up with the idea of starting a brewery there? I guess it was kind of a youth dream and in 2016 I concluded with my co-founder that it was 'now or never'. Beer is a fantastic product in many ways and having the opportunity to help develop a living beer culture in this country is a real treat. We are the first brewery in the region in over 100 years and the fact that we could establish the brewery on Marstrand island, a place that I really like, also helped me to take the decision to go for it. How did you get in touch with the Dutch Chamber? My wife Brigitte was the chairwoman of the DHCS (the Dutch Club in Stockholm) for a couple of years and I got to know the Chamber through her contacts. What are the benefits of a Dutch Chamber membership for yourself and the brewery? The Dutch Chamber is an excellent way for me to 'connect' with the Netherlands and Dutch business life again. And for the brewery it means we can we can reach out to more people and make them interested in quality craft beer. Picture above: Louis Hedberg with his wife Brigitte who works with events and marketing at the brewery. /Marion Norman |
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