At the heart of Sweden’s triumph as one of the world’s innovation leaders is a self-devised ecosystem that is geared towards nurturing creativity. Be it investing heavily in research or encouraging critical thinking from an early age or staying open to international influences, Sweden seems to do many things right.
This week, as a delegation of 19 students and two professors from Carnegie Mellon University Qatar went to Stockholm for a week full of meetings and discussions with top Swedish companies such as Ericsson, Skype and Spotify, among others, ambassador of Sweden to Qatar, Ewa Polano, during a conversation, tells Community about Sweden’s passion for innovation and how it has so much to offer to the growing infrastructure of Qatar.
“After Silicon Valley, Stockholm is the number two place in the world for start-ups. It’s an interesting part of Swedish economy that we can hopefully match with the interests of especially the young generation of Qatar,” she says.
From working on waste management of Lusail, Msheireb, the airport, and The Pearl, to handling water management and renewable energy fields, Swedish minds have already worked wonders in Qatar, Polano points out. “Speaking of innovation, we have the SymbioCity, which is Sweden’s unique approach to sustainable urban development,” she says.
In Innovation – The Swedish Way, a book released by the Swedish Institute, a public agency that promotes interest and confidence in Sweden around the world, and is endorsed by the Swedish embassy, author Eva Krutmeijer enlists a wide range of Swedish innovations that have ushered in incredible change.
Take Petra Wadstrom’s Solvatten, for instance, which was unveiled a decade ago. “Every year, 1.5mn children around the world die of diarrhoea-related diseases before the age of five. As much as 90% of these children could be saved if only their families had access to clean water. But that’s no small task,” Krutmeijjer writes.
Enter Solvatten, a hi-tech container that can kill bacteria, viruses and parasites in 11 to 44 litres of water a day in just a few hours, making it drinkable. But how? “Just by sunshine. And because the sun replaces open fires, the product helps reduce both deforestation and carbon emissions,” Krutmeijer points out.
There are some wonderfully outlandish examples, too. Plantagon by innovator Ake Olsson and its CEO Hans Hassle, is a company that develops and builds greenhouses – not horizontally, but vertically; not in the countryside, but in the middle of the city. Olsson is an ecological farmer “who was unable to abandon the science fiction-inspired idea of giant urban greenhouses”.
“Already 20 years ago he came up with the idea that vegetables could be grown in tower blocks if only all the plants could be provided with light,” Krutmeijer writes.
Polano explains, “The Swedish success story of how we became a strong welfare nation from being one of the poorest countries in Europe is something we would like to share with Qatar. We know now that Qatar is focusing and deepening its interest on the paradigm shift that’s ongoing, away from the oil and gas economy, and into a knowledge-based society with a diversified economy.”
Citing how Swedish brands like Ikea and H&M have come to be global players by basing their business models on innovation, Polano narrates a most probable everyday anecdote, “You might be using innovations and products of Sweden in your daily life but perhaps you aren’t aware of it at all.
Many of you might wake up on an IKEA bed, then go to the kitchen and open the refrigerator – the first of which was invented by a Swede – and take out a carton of milk, the Tetrapak is also a Swedish company and innovation. As you sit to have your breakfast, you might get interrupted by a message or call on your cell phone – the first cell phone was invented by the Swedish company Ericsson.”
She continues, “Then as you get dressed, you might use a zipper somewhere – the first zipper was invented by a Swede. Next, perhaps you check your e-mail on your personal computer with the click of a mouse, which is also a Swedish innovation. When you drive away, you use seatbelts which were devised by Volvo, a Swedish innovation.
“Then you might need to withdraw some cash and you stop by at the ATM, also a Swedish invention. Your day might involve you calling your friends on Skype, a Swedish-Danish innovation, or use Bluetooth, a Swedish innovation, to listen to music. These are just some of the examples why it’s important to work with us.”
GIANT LEAP: Swedish ambassador Ewa Polano at her office in Doha. Right: Petra Wadstrom and Jane Mberu, one of the first Solvatten users in Bongoma, Kenya.
