The recent pandemic has affected human lives in different ways and many businesses have seen a decline. Camfil and some more Swedish multinational companies in Singapore along with local small and medium-sized enterprises have started a hands-on partnership program, the SESG Initiative, to exchange experiences and develop their respective businesses.
The program is initiated by SwedCham, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, together with the creative collective Forsman & Bodenfors in Singapore. The program so far holds a dozen local SMEs, who have teamed up with major Swedish companies like Camfil in Singapore. The initiative to date incorporates an island-wide advertising campaign and regular partner meetings, labeled “Fika4Good”.
From the start, the initiative consists of 3 pillars. The Advocate, which is an OOH campaign. Fika4Good, which is an ongoing partnership anchored in the Swedish tradition of coming together over a coffee. And the SwedishGig, a job creation initiative to support Workforce Singapore’s SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – Company Attachment, which is a Singaporean initiative within the SGUnited umbrella.
The initiative started after the global pandemic, COVID-19, leaving both small and big companies striving, and SwedCham recognized the need for a collaborative initiative. In challenging times, great things can be achieved when working collectively, exchanging experiences, and knowledge. The project’s main goal is to exchange creative ideas, experience, and channel business growth.
“Camfil is excited to join hands with SwedCham and believes that the initiative will help us strengthen our relationship with local entrepreneurs. The mutual dialogue of ideas and flow of creativity creates a positive environment that is much needed in these challenging times”. – says Jayant Kaushal, Vice President Business Development, Asia Pacific, Camfil
Ms. Lisa Ferraton, General Manager at SwedCham in Singapore, says, “For these Swedish companies, Singapore is a home away from home, and has been so for decades. Joining hands with smaller, Singaporean entrepreneurs offers a unique opportunity to get to know each other’s challenges better and provide mutual help when it’s needed the most. We are only at the beginning of this initiative, and as we move forward I encourage more companies to participate.”
The Singaporean SMEs involved operate within a wide variety of areas, ranging from local hawkers and bakers, to watch shops and tailors – in all parts of the city. The participating SMEs were selected in close cooperation with Enterprise Singapore and the National Environment Agency, NEA.
Camfil is partnered with Curious Thought Academy, a Singapore based education provider with a vision to empower children through equal and transparent access to quality education. Curious Thoughts Academy is a literacy learning centre and a social enterprise with the vision to empower children from all walks of life through equal and transparent access to quality education. Their goal is to have one child from a less privileged background taught for free for every three paying students. They believe that learning should be fun and engaging regardless of your social background; and that kids from all walks of life can succeed academically.
Each partner duo determines what issues should be brought up and how best to solve them. This involves everything from business strategy and joint CSR projects to customer support and communication tactics. Camfil and Curious Thoughts Academy have much in similarity such as dealing with the new world of digitalization, finding new ways to develop business in the local community, strengthen leadership, and a firm belief in investing in the future we want to shape.
Read more about the Camfil partnership at https://bit.ly/3m1zAwI
Read more about the SESG Initiative at www.sesg.info
For media enquiries, please contact
| Lisa Ferraton General Manager, Swedish Chamber of Commerce [email protected] +65 8189 3023 |
Jayant Kaushal VP Business Development, Camfil Asia Pacific [email protected] +65 6460 0450 |
About Camfil Group
For more than half a century, Camfil has been helping people breathe cleaner air. Camfil provides commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control that improve worker and equipment productivity, minimize energy use, and benefit human health and the environment. We firmly believe that the best solutions for our customers are the best solutions for our planet, too. That’s why every step of the way – from design to delivery and across the product life cycle – we consider the impact of what we do on people and on the world around us. The Camfil Group is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has 30 manufacturing sites, six R&D centres, local sales offices in 30 countries, and 4,800 employees and growing. We proudly serve and support customers in a wide variety of industries and in communities across the world. To discover how Camfil can help you to protect people, processes, and the environment, visit us at www.camfil.com
About SwedCham SG
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, SwedCham, is a non-profit, non-governmental membership-based organisation representing Swedish businesses in Singapore. SwedCham serves a broad and diverse network of member companies, ranging from large multinational corporations to SMEs and start-ups from many different industries. Through its activities, SwedCham provides a dynamic and innovative platform for knowledge-sharing, business development, and networking.
