Young Filipino-Swede Mr Axel Fries has taken over as NordCham Philippines’ new Executive Director, keen on leading the chamber to new heights, while not going ahead of himself. And while being the new kid on the block within NordCham, Axel is no stranger to the Philippines, having spent time there ever since his childhood years and more recently (after making it his full time address) working within finance for a startup investment firm (Foxmont Capital Partners).
His mother being Filipino the family used to celebrate every Christmas in the country, together with her relatives.
Later, while his parents lived full time in the Philippines, Axel studied and earned a Bachelor of science in the U.S, at Davidson College in North Carolina.
“I ended up at Davidson College on a tennis scholarship. I had a fantastic four years there, combining high-level tennis with studies at an institution with a strong academic reputation.”
Noteworthy, North Carolina has a small but established Swedish presence, with roughly 57,000+ residents reporting Swedish ancestry.
Following his studies Axel also went on to work in a couple of tech start-ups there during 2019 – 2024.
NordCham – a “great opportunity”
“I also came to visit the Philippines more often then, than in the past. And it has really become a second home for me. And after living in the U.S for a while – and being away from my family a lot – I just decided I wanted to do something new and try my luck full time in the Philippines. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I came here and didn’t know for how long I’d be here, and whether to find a job or not. But I ended up staying,” begins Axel.
“After a few different jobs I eventually found my way to the NordCham. When the position first became vacant in the summer of 2024 I had already committed myself to another job. But when they reached out to me some eight months later, I felt like I was in a better position to make the decision to commit to that offer. Once I had learned more about the role and its operations it just sounded like a great opportunity,” relates the new ED, who joined in May 2025.
In his new role Axel is dedicated to excellence, as NordCham strives to be the leading organization that represents and empowers Nordic-Philippine businesses, with currently around 120 members and the operations focused on the capital Manila.
“Just under half of the members are originally Nordic, while among the rest there are others that either have Nordic employees or Nordic clients. It’s a wide mix of industries and sectors. So, it doesn’t cover just two or three sectors – which in turn allows for a broad and diverse network and many different connections,” informs Axel.
I think it makes for a very interesting chamber to be a part of; a lot of different types of activities and things that we organise, but primarily just having a nice diverse group of members, I think is a huge benefit for us,” he adds.
The Nordic collaboration also seems to run smoothly in the Philippines, despite the Nordic countries having different cultures and thus ways how to go about things. Axel however has observed the opposite: “I still see a lot of similarities between all of the Nordics. And as far as I have experienced – especially when it comes to the board as well as any Chamber engagement – people from the various Nordic countries all tend to get along pretty well and are able to understand and relate to each other.”
“And I think that they like being considered ‘Nordic’ in terms of branding. I think they all see that as only a positive thing rather wanting to represent just Denmark or Norway etc.,” adds the ED.
Joined by Embassy of Ukraine
The AGM also saw the board being expanded to seven members, he informs. “This is great because now we have representatives from all the Nordic countries, besides Iceland. Also, we’re incredibly excited about having welcomed the Embassy of Ukraine as honorary member. Since the Nordic countries are very supportive of Ukraine, we want to do the same. Their embassy opened a little over a year ago in Manila. And part of what they’re looking to do is to increase trade and try to help Ukrainian businesses enter the Philippine Market.”
There is also the ‘New Nordics’ where the Baltic countries are gradually spreading their wings also over in Asia.
“We met with a delegation from Lithuania, from the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that visited Manila last year. They also joined as a member, so we’re a resource here also for them. We’ve set up several meetings and different webinars for them to better learn about the Philippine market and so on.”
Networking as route to membership
Through their membership the members can enjoy advocacy efforts on their behalf, access to influential leaders, learning about business essentials, enhanced connectivity and more. For the networking part the January 2026 inaugural ‘Skål Social’ (the first new concept since Axel came one board) has already proven to bear fruit, as an attractive way, especially for newly arrived member prospects and other Nordic people looking to engage with the Nordic community.
“There wasn’t really much out there, and the idea is to offer something casual, in after-work style where people can just show up, without having to pay any ticket – where we have partnered up with a local bar.”
“This was something that came out of an idea based on some common feedback received from many of our members; namely that for a lot of them they just enjoy being a part of the Nordic community, and NordCham, at least. Many of the different networking events and opportunities tend to be more formal and with some agenda or sector focus etc. But there wasn’t really any casual way to network.”
Aside Axel there are three other staff of which two of them handle all the events, which entail 2-3 monthly activities. The third person is in charge of marketing.
Then, the NordCham board is also very active, informs the ED: “We have two working groups, consisting in the maritime committee, and the sustainability committee. Both of these are big and important for the Nordics, and also conducted jointly with other chambers of commerce stakeholders.”
In one of the annual events – the Joint Economic Briefing – NordCham members also get access to, they get details on the Philippines’ economic-, political-, or financial outlook or similar, to help them align their strategies. In 2026 the economic trajectory for the current year and beyond was in focus.
Advocacy for improving ease of doing business
As for any goals and special focus Axel sees the first year at the helm as his learning year: “I’m not setting too high goals right away or any specific achievements because I still feel that I need to get to know our members and better understand what we what we need to do in order to support them.”
“One main thing though, and one I personally, and along with the board, feel strongly about is trying to work with our members as well as various government agencies to improve the ease of doing business here. There’s a lot of bureaucracy red tape.”
“And there are other types of challenges involved with doing business in the Philippines, and as a Nordic company you want to make sure that you’re doing things the right way. That can create even more challenges because often the easy way is not the right way. So that makes it a little more difficult,” adds Axel.
He describes it as a really important initiative that NordCham is working on – and where not too many details can be disclosed at this stage.
For the Philippines, one of the drivers of growth is indeed legislative reforms in the form of the ‘Create More Act’, recently enacted as the primary driver that reduces corporate income tax to as low as 20%, clarifies VAT rules, and institutionalises hybrid work for tech firms – aiming to make the Philippines competitive with Vietnam and Thailand.
While the country remains one of the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, it faces a complex transition period where legislative reforms are racing against global headwinds.
Axel also gives an affirmative response that they have noticed within NordCham that the Philippines’ government feels the pressure improve these things, not least with stronger competition from countries like Vietnam.
“Increasing foreign direct investment is something that’s incredibly important for the Philippine government; they want to encourage more companies to come here. In addition to the ‘Create More Act’ they have also adjusted other policies and laws, for instance, when it comes to real estate and property leases as well as foreign ownership of companies – where legislation has become a lot more beneficial for that. This is also why they’re very open to working with us when it comes to ease of doing business. They want to make it attractive for companies to come in, and to also continue investing,” says Axel.
The Green Lane
Beyond the kind of member assistance offered to the aforementioned Vilnius Chamber, NordCham no longer offer business consultancy (such as market entrance and research) services directly – but indirectly by referring to its various partner members that offer such support: “We act as a connector. rather than we ourselves providing the services.”
Nordic investments into the Philippines are no doubt on the up, where the ‘Nordic Model’ of sustainability and high-tech maritime solutions is currently in strong demand. Among those comes the member Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), described as “arguably the most significant Nordic investment in decades.” This offshore wind project is also a pioneer under the 100% foreign ownership rule, utilising the Philippines’ ‘Green Lane’ initiative.
Aside ownership Nordic companies, which hold high standards for transparency, often struggled with the “red tape” of local government units (LGUs). The Green Lane forces LGUs and national agencies to act simultaneously rather than sequentially, reducing permit processing time by an average of 49%!
From Finland, meanwhile, firms are increasingly entering the Smart City and Waste-to-Energy space, with Business Tampere (economic development agency) and other Finnish trade bodies among them.
“I met with the representative of Business Tampere last year, when they visited twice. They believe there is business to be made here.”
Swedish companies apparently could not agree more: According to the 2025 Business Climate Survey for Swedish Companies in the Philippines, they maintain a bullish outlook on the Philippine business climate, driven by strong economic fundamentals, rapid industrial development, and key infrastructure initiatives, despite navigating challenges like bureaucracy and red tape.
All businesses should know that NordCham Philippines is here to support Nordic businesses! And the reason why we’re Nordic is that this essentially allows us to have a larger chamber, with a little bit more influence. So, if you are in any company in the region looking to enter the Philippines or if you’re already in the Philippines, and perhaps experiencing any issues or challenges, where you need support – than that is what we’re here for! Join us and work together with the others from the Nordics – to improve and grow your business, but also to help improve the business landscape in the Philippines!” ends Axel.
