Bringing Swedish Business to the World

By Gunnar Åkerlind

Sweden is a very export dependent country, and to facilitate this trade there are Swedish chambers of commerce all around the world, working to promote Swedish exports. This spring, I interviewed four senior figures in different chambers of commerce to let them share their experiences from their respective regions. 

Introduction

This article builds on interviews with four senior figures in the world of chambers of commerce, bringing experience from large parts of the world including the Netherlands, Brazil, China and Eurasia. The interviewees were asked about their careers and business in their region, showing a wide diversity in personal backgrounds and in how it is to work with business in different corners of the world.

Chambers of Commerce

With a small export dependent economy (with a 54.3% export share of GDP!) there is a need to promote trade to ensure the success of Swedish business and maintain our economy and tax base. Many engage in this endeavour including private businesses themselves, embassies and Business Sweden but this article takes a look at chambers of commerce. There are several sorts of chambers of commerce but most in our case (Swedcham Brazil, Swedcham China and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands) are a part of SCI (Swedish Chambers International), an umbrella organisation covering over 30 Swedish chambers. The chambers help with networking and finding connections, workshops and helping conduct market research, most importantly through Business Climate Surveys, examining the state and trends that Swedish businesses face around the world. Not all chambers aimed toward business abroad are a part of SCI however. The Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Eurasia has its own long history and operates from Sweden towards much of the former Soviet Union without being part of SCI.

The Netherlands

Petra Zachrisson Beets is the CEO of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands. She studied media and communications in Lund along with journalism in France, ending up working many years with communications in both the private sector and the Swedish embassy in the Hague. She has had her current position as CEO in the Chamber since September 2025, and has lived in the Netherlands since 1999. She initially ended up in the Netherlands due to love.

Having to summarize the business-climate in the Netherlands in one word she chose “safe”.  Petra describes the business climate in the Netherlands as having remained stable for a long time, with low corruption and established practices. The Netherlands shares much with Sweden in this regard as it is a small European export dependent highly industrialised country. She says that Swedes work very well with the Dutch and make great trading partners. Elaborating on this, she described the Dutch as very competent in conducting trade, something both historically and culturally ingrained with a long history in international trade and modern traditions of King’s day flea-markets where kids learn to trade.

The yearly performed Business Climate Survey measures the perception of the business climate by Swedish companies in the Netherlands, showing that safety, efficient logistics infrastructure, advanced digital capabilities, and strong institutional frameworks create an environment in which companies can operate efficiently and with predictability, while many companies would appreciate simplification of labor and the many levels of bureaucracy and regulations. She compared the Dutch “Polder-model” of union and industry relations to the Swedish model, but with greater prevalence of protests and conflict in recent years like in other European countries. When it comes to personal relations, the Dutch stand out as very straight forward and business minded, even compared to Swedish people. Despite this possibly appearing a bit rude and direct, she emphasizes that Swedish and Dutch people work very well together.

Finally, Petra says that the cooperation within “Team Sweden” in the Netherlands is very rewarding and intense. The Swedish Embassy, the Chamber of Commerce and Business Sweden work together closely like in many other countries. The Swedish ambassador is an Honorary chairman of the Chamber and the network of the Chamber is useful for the Embassy when working with Swedish business. Business Sweden helps Swedish businesses get established in the Netherlands, and when they are there the businesses can join the network of the Chamber. “Full circle!”

Brazil

Jonas Lindström is the Managing Director of Swedcham Brazil. He has a background as a teacher, ending up in Brazil and at the chamber after moving there for love. 

When asked about a normal day at the chamber, Jonas describes the work as very varied, asking himself if there even are any “normal days”. The Chamber is run as a non-profit member association with almost 200 company members, with his job being to ensure that the members feel that they get value out of their membership through events, networking, courses, career-fairs and their mentorship program. He says that on a Monday, a company may call asking with a request for arranging an event on new tax legislation on the Friday the same week. Jonas says that the most important function may be to be a meeting place and forum for discussion of relevant issues in for example tariffs and regulations, so that they can learn from each other and find help in navigating Brazil’s complex system. 

When asked to describe the business climate in Brazil with one word, he chose “dynamic”. He elaborates on his choice by saying Brazil can be dynamic in both a positive and a negative sense, where there is enormous possibility for establishing new products with growth and a population of about 220 million where many haven’t gotten their first fridge or phone yet. In the more negative sense, there may be very high import tolls and complicated tax and worker rights legislation. He quotes the common saying “Brazil is not for beginners”, and that his chamber helps to navigate this complicated set of rules and regulations. He sums up the business climate as there being a lot of potential, but you have to work for it. 

When asked about how the business climate has changed in Brazil during the last few years or decades, he restates how dynamic Brazil is. He says that the country isn’t politically unstable, but that the changes from one government to the next may be very big and this in turn affects how it is to conduct business. Another major change to business in the region is the recent progress of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU, something which may greatly increase trade between the two regions and make Swedish and European exports easier to the toll-heavy Brazil.

Jonas contrasts the size of Brazil to Sweden. Sweden has a population of about 10 million, while Brazil is a magnitude larger at 200 million, which makes both opportunities greater but also the difficulty of organizing a country at that size. Brazil has states, a national government and municipal government, making Brazil much more complex which is reflected in the legal system. Jonas likens Brazil to the US in terms of the size and complexity of the legal system, which makes Sweden appear easily navigable in comparison. While the system is big and complex, Jonas says it is a functioning system, albeit with an enormous number of appeals making it to only eleven supreme court judges. He mentions however that this may not be set in stone, as reforms are discussed to make both taxation and the overall legal process simpler and more easily navigable.

Another thing that differs between Sweden and Brazil is personal relations in business. Jonas said that Brazilians put a lot of importance on building good personal relations in business, while in Sweden this may be less important if both parties respect each other's companies or organisations.

Like with Swedcham China and with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands, Jonas mentions that the working relationship with “Team Sweden” (including the embassy and Business Sweden) is very good, with no competition between the organisations. 

Finally, I asked Jonas to share an anecdote from his time in Brazil which reflected some characteristic aspect of the country. He mentioned a time that a menu had not been prepared in time for dinner which would be visited by the Swedish King and Queen, something that may be very difficult resolve in Sweden with orderly processes and long discussions, but thanks to working with characteristically flexible Brazilians, the issue was resolved just in time thanks to everyone’s joint efforts. He says that Swedish people may find Brazil less punctual, but when necessary people are much more flexible than what you may encounter here. On the note of the Queen, Jonas also mentioned that she is an honorary member of their board, a unique quirk of the Brazilian chamber stemming from the fact that the Queen has Brazilian background, and he has therefore had the privilege of meeting the Swedish Royal Couple on several occasions. 

China

Malin Hammarén was at the time of the interview the General Manager of Swedcham China, leading both the Shanghai and Beijing offices. Malin has a background working with management and international business, having worked both at Ericsson in Japan and Business Sweden in Dubai. 

Malin describes the business climate in China with the word “speed”. She elaborates by emphasizing the enormous speed of development and change in China. She contrasts this to Europe by stating that when things are discussed in terms of months in the West, it is discussed in weeks in China. There is an enormous pressure to push down prices, take risks and to innovate. She describes the recent years as having been greatly affected by covid and overcapacity, along with the long awaited consequences of the inflated real-estate market in China. There are also issues with youth unemployment at the same time as the population pyramid is being inverted with very few young and a large aging population. She also describes China as moving in a “China for China” direction with less English education and more focus on running their own race. 

When asked about how Sweden and Europe differs from China in terms of doing business she mentions that China has become very open to business but at the same time there are great disadvantages to foreign companies in China, but it becomes necessary to establish factories and businesses there despite the disadvantages to be able to take part of innovation and to not be excluded from bidding processes and contracts. There is also a lot of mixing between business and politics with benefits coming from knowing local government, which is not accessible to foreign companies in the same way. She states that foreign companies perceive unfair competition and a very tough business climate. 

On the note of the personal aspects of business Malin mentions the importance of “guanxi” (关系) or personal relations. You have to build trust with people before coming to any agreement, which she says reflects in the fact that she has never before been in as many face-to-face meetings in such a short period of time. Online meetings, which many here in Sweden find favorable, are not liked in China. Malin says that she has come to appreciate this aspect of the Chinese way of working, finding real life meetings much more rewarding that an efficient zoom-call. China further differs from Sweden when it comes to working conditions, Malin said. Where a normal work week in Sweden is eight hours five days a week, the norm in many industries in China is the so-called 996 workweek, with working hours nine to nine, six days a week, standing in stark contrast to Europe but fitting in well with other countries in East Asia like Japan and Korea. The expectations are not always imposed upon foreigners working in China, but the weeks are nonetheless longer than what would be typical in Europe. A final difference between Sweden and China in the business aspect is the importance of “saving face”, she states. It is seen as very important to live up to expectations and show good results, and often in the process leaving out possible problems that may lead to someone “losing face”. 

Like stated by Petra at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands, there is a good cooperation with “Team Sweden” (the Swedish embassy, Business Sweden and the Swedish consulate) with events and the conduction of the Business Climate Survey. 

Eurasia

Heinz Sjögren was at the time of the interview the CEO of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Eurasia, bringing with him a vast experience spanning most of his life, starting with high school studies in Russian which ended up leading him to a career bringing Swedish business eastward. 

After choosing to study Russian in high school hoping that few would choose the same and the course would be cancelled, Heinz later ended up working as a tour guide for tourist trips to the USSR in the 1980s. After his university studies he started working for SEB, ending up as the head of the representative office in Moscow from 1990 to 1992, witnessing the collapse of the USSR up close. Heinz continued to work in the former USSR, helping Swedish banks establish dominance in the Baltics. 

Based on his extensive experience, Heinz described witnessing three key turning points in the former USSR and Eurasia during his time there: The collapse of the Soviet Union, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 with the ongoing war. This dynamism has greatly affected trade in the region, with the three turning points forming distinct periods of business climates in the region and shaping the corresponding trade relations with Sweden and Europe. The years following the collapse of the USSR led to a period of “robber capitalism” where assets were bought very cheaply and the ownership of different sectors quickly changed from the collectivized Soviet system. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 became the end of a much more favorable attitude towards Russia by Europe and Sweden, but limited sanctions did not lead to a complete disruption of EU-Russia trade. This completely changed with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 where EU-sanctions and attitudes towards Russia took a sharp turn towards something more serious and substantive. 

Describing business in his region with one word he chose “connections”. Heinz states that people often want to show that they have connections in ministries and in business, and connections make people important and useful. He says that this actually fits quite well with the role of the chamber of commerce, as they most of all are a forum for making connections. He explains the prevalence of this phenomenon in the region with the history of the USSR. Relations back then, Heinz states, built much more on personal connections than laws, praxis or trust in government and this has lasted to some degree until now.

Heinz gave the most historical background of all heads of the chambers, something that is highly relevant given the size, complexity and history of the region. As mentioned, the Eurasian chamber of commerce is directed towards several countries rather than one specific, unlike the cases of Swedcham Brazil, Swedcham China and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands. This has its origin in the fact that the chamber used to be directed towards the USSR as a whole, which with the collapse the USSR now has become multiple independent countries, all covered by one Swedish chamber of commerce. It was founded in 1968 and was then mostly a way for big Swedish companies to sell to Soviet government purchasing organisations. Today the chamber works towards 12 former Soviet countries, “all the Stans, Caucasus and Russia” along with Ukraine and Moldova. Unlike the other three chambers in this article, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Eurasia is not a part of SCI (Swedish Chambers International), an umbrella organisation for Swedish chamber of commerce, as they are not established abroad, but rather work from Sweden towards their region, but the function is similar. 

So what does his chamber do? About 60 different companies are part of the chamber, where they all benefit from the networking possibilities coming with the chamber and its events. Bigger member companies often have their own resources and expertise to work in his region, but small and medium sized companies stand to benefit the most according to Heinz, as they are able to get assistance with specific issues such as how to relate to sanctions and finding partners. 

Conclusion

These interviews have been saturated with valuable knowledge, and it might be useful to make some key takeaways. It is apparent from the interviews that an inexperienced Swedish person may run into some culture shocks when it comes to how personal relations are viewed and how much they differ in different around the world. The Dutch tend to be very head on, even to Swedish people, while Brazilians and Chinese people expect much more dedication to building personal relations. Ways of doing business, laws and economic climate vary a lot between the regions and the chambers are there to help navigate this. The chambers have much in common, with their most important role being a forum for discussion and networking for companies and actors working in the region or wishing to establish themselves there. While many things differ between the regions in question, the role of team Sweden is consistently important and well-functioning. This could be seen as a testament to the good relations between Swedish business and foreign representation, a function that the chambers of commerce help fulfil to the benefit of the Swedish economy and foreign relations. 

Many thanks to Heinz, Jonas, Malin and Petra for their wise words, their time and their effort.

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Gunnar Åkerlind is the Editor-in-Chief at the Stockholm Journal of International Affairs. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics at Stockholm University and holds a previous degree in engineering chemistry from KTH. He is mainly interested in trade, the environment and international relations.