2021-02-17 09:38News

SmiLe and the Chamber of Commerce to jointly support startup companies

Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator, and Ulrika Dieroff, Head of Business Support at the Chamber of Commerce and IndustryEbba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator, and Ulrika Dieroff, Head of Business Support at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry

SmiLe Incubator and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry have entered into a strategic partnership that provides SmiLe member companies with the benefit of accessing Chamber of Commerce and Industry member offers while the companies are at SmiLe Incubator. The companies also gain a valuable gateway to the large Chamber of Commerce and Industry network in the Southern Swedish business community.

Both the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SmiLe Incubator are mainly tasked with promoting development in the business community. This partnership will open the door for SmiLe member companies to access special offers from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, including education programs, some advisory services and most importantly, a large network of entrepreneurs. A broad network of contacts at an early stage is crucial for the development of these companies.

The joint initiative is a valuable complement to the extensive benefit package that SmiLe companies receive, which includes access to national and international organizations and networks. This initiative is also part of SmiLe’s ambition to increase exposure and touchpoints for the startup companies – a key component of SmiLe’s strategy for success. Since its inception, SmiLe Incubator has supported about 90 life science entrepreneurs in the incubator program with business development and training, and nine of ten of the former and present participating companies are still active.

“We are pleased about this collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is in line with our aspiration to cooperate with the organizations that are most significant for our companies. It is of great value for our companies to have the opportunity to enter the Southern Swedish business community and gain access to even more experts,” says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator.

For the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the collaboration is an opportunity to reach young companies that are focused on their businesses at an early stage, when they are not yet familiar with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“With around 150 events each year, we help to provide a meeting place for expertise and knowledge sharing to the 2,500 member companies, which represent a variety of industries. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an important advocacy body that pursues issues related to skills and diversity, infrastructure and integration, in order to promote growth and competitiveness in Southern Sweden’s business life,” says Ulrika Dieroff, Head of Business Support at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 

For more information, please contact:
Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator, +46 (0)73 4000433, ebba@smileincubator.life

or

Ulrika Dieroff, Head of Business Support at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, +46 (0)40-690 24 29, ulrika.dieroff@handelskammaren.com

 


Language: English

About SmiLe Venture Hub – Pioneering Life Science Innovations

SmiLe Incubator is a life science business incubator based in Medicon Village in Lund. SmiLe helps entrepreneurs to commercialize their ideas. There are currently 25 companies in SmiLe, which together with alumni companies, have attracted more than EUR 380 million in venture capital to date since 2014. SmiLe offers business coaching, a large network of contacts and a dynamic community, as well as well-equipped laboratories which is unique of its kind in Sweden. SmiLe is a non-profit organization and receives basic funding from Region Skåne, Lund Municipality, Lund University and Medicon Village. SmiLe´s sponsors are Agilent, Sparbanken Skåne, Awa, Høiberg, Prevas, Setterwalls, Zacco, Aqilion. SmiLe’s listed alumni companies have a market capitalization of EUR 1,28 billion (Q3 2020). www.smileincubator.life