2008-02-01

Collaboration makes business concepts more likely to grow

{mosimage}Getting financial backing at an early stage can be a challenge. At the same time, the questions asked by financiers can be crucial to the very survival of a good idea. Those notions were the starting point for the Product Development Council (in Swedish: PU-rådet).
– The purpose is for us working with innovation support to speed up the process of finding the best possible financing solutions for the companies and conceptual projects here in Värmland, explains Britt Lööv of Inova.


As a business owner or idea holder, you often find that early financing is a maze of questions and decisions. Different players offer different forms of support. In order to alleviate this confusion, government-owned NUTEK (the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth) took the initiative to establish regional collaboration projects throughout the country, and as a result, the PD Council was created in Värmland.

It is a joint initiative by players in Värmland who can, in different ways, contribute with financial support in the early stages.
– By meeting to discuss current matters, companies and projects in Värmland can evolve faster because we shorten the decision path, says Britt Lööv. Having existed for almost three years, the collaboration includes the following organisations: ·        

The Värmland office of government-owned business promoter ALMI        

The Värmland office of the Swedish Credit Guarantee Association        

Industriellt Utvecklingscentrum, IUC (“Industrial Development Centre”)      

The County Administrative Board of Värmland

Inova       

Innovationsbron Väst (national business-development promoter, office for western Sweden)

The members gather approximately once a month, and the idea is for the PD Council to act as a one-stop shop for all organisations offering some kind of seed capital. Britt argues that the organisations themselves also have a lot to gain from learning about each other’s operations. Knowing how other organisations work makes it easier to guide people to the right member of the network, which therefore relieves them of extra work.

The players active in the PD Council are looking forward to 2008 as a busy year as regards new businesses in Värmland.
– Several of the organisations will go through further development in many fields, so we’ll need to go over our roles again. Hopefully, that can lead to even better collaboration, Britt rounds off. For more information about support via the PD Council, please contact ALMI, Inova or IUC. The convener of the PD Council is ALMI. 

 

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