SMEs are crucial to Sweden’s competitiveness
The application period is now open for Net Zero Industry’s first call, focused on SME initiatives. The call targets intermediaries – that is, organizations that can support small and medium-sized enterprises in accelerating their transition to net zero. Why is this such an important effort? We spoke with Dan Carlsson, SME Coordinator at Net Zero Industry.
This call is aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Why are they so important for Sweden’s competitiveness?
– SMEs play a central role in the value chain, and depending on the industry, they can account for up to 70 percent of the value of the final product. Without them, the system simply doesn’t function as a whole. SMEs also often drive innovation through new business models and new technologies, which makes them key players in both the climate transition and in strengthening Sweden’s competitiveness.
What challenges do you see for SMEs in this transition?
– There are many. New regulations, directives, and requirements can easily be perceived as a burden, but when handled correctly they actually become a competitive advantage. Companies need to understand their operating environment, build knowledge and capabilities, reduce emissions in their own operations, and at the same time contribute to reductions across the entire value chain – for example by lowering emissions during their customers’ use phase. Ultimately, it’s about identifying opportunities and improvement potential in order to win customers and business by accelerating the transition toward resilience and net zero. I would say that companies that fail to take part in the transition risk becoming irrelevant very quickly.
What is important for intermediaries applying for funding in this call?
– Applicants have a unique opportunity to provide innovation support tailored to SME needs. This can include coaching, mentoring, training, or offering infrastructure for testing and experimentation. At the same time, we as a program want to foster learning – both between funded projects and across the program as a whole. One of the key challenges is how to best strengthen national transition capacity. For us, openness, collaboration, and the ability to understand how changes in technology, business models, and culture contribute to the transition are essential. No single actor has all the pieces, but together we can provide companies with the holistic support they need to manage the transition and thereby strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness. This call is a pilot, and future calls are intended to scale up and offer many more support initiatives for SMEs.
What impacts are you hoping this initiative will achieve?
– First and foremost, that SMEs receive effective support in managing the transition. Things didn’t turn out quite as we had hoped when we first launched our SME initiative, and it has been a journey, but now we can finally get started. I truly hope many will want to join us. We must build on the strong local, regional, and national initiatives that already exist. Step by step, the program will help develop and provide comprehensive support to help SMEs accelerate their transition. My hope is that together we can speed up the green transition while simultaneously strengthening SME competitiveness, both nationally and internationally.