Towards the end of 2016 thirty entrepreneurs and Team Finland network representatives gathered for an afternoon at the new residence of the Finnish Ambassador Satu Suikkari-Kleven in Bangkok. Their task was to identify concrete opportunities for business between Finland and Thailand, and they came up with an action plan for 2017. The group concluded that the most promising areas for collaborative business creation efforts are education, health and cleantech.
“Team Finland is the cooperation network of Finnish actors. This year in Thailand, it has identified promising education and learning related business opportunities. In addition, there is a growing middle class with increasing purchasing power for interesting lifestyle and design products. These leads as well as events and other Thailand specific Team Finland services can be found from our Embassy’s web site”, shares the Team Finland Thailand coordinator Katarina Tapio.
“ASEAN countries are right now promising growth markets. Finnish companies should really consider them as part of their innovation and growth strategy”, says Minh Lam from Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation. He leads an innovation program called BEAM – Business with Impact. BEAM encourages and funds innovation and business development projects of Finnish companies to grow their business in emerging markets.
Finland is known in Thailand for its education system. Thailand’s educators are seeking cooperation and advice in the areas of teacher training, curriculum renewal, early childhood education and vocational training. They are interested in educational methodologies and digital learning solutions.
Within health-related business the topics are: healthcare tourism to Thailand, services for elderly people and digital solutions for healthcare providers, and personal wellness. One of the health related needs common to all ASEAN countries is the solutions for food quality and food safety.
Environmentally friendly energy solutions are becoming more and more needed in Thailand. People are increasingly interested in smart home solutions, better insulation of houses and other ways of saving energy. For energy production and distribution, turning waste to energy is becoming increasingly interesting, as well as solar energy and smart grids.
The following actions by Team Finland and Finnish companies in Thailand were agreed on for 2017:
- Join forces to organize Finland100 events to promote everything good about Finland. Companies can host also separate events for their clients and partners in the margins of the Finland100-events.
- Organize joint networking events with Thai partners, including representatives of Ministries and other officials at the residence of the Ambassador. Some of these events will focus on general issues of interest to all, and others on a particular sector or theme.
- Organize regularly workshops for Team Finland and companies for the purposes of sharing info and experiences and to invite guests.
Team Finland services and activities in Thailand are listed at the embassy website. Katarina Tapio, [email protected], Coordinator of Team Finland network in Thailand
Source: Embassy of Finland, Bangkok
