ScandAsia Singapore - September 2016 by Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd.

SEP 2016

Finnish front runner event ‘Slush’ arrives to Singapore ScandAsia.dk

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DABS dinner: Ambassador-designate and Consul and Deputy Head of Mission

16 SEP 20

Coming Events

Where: Singapore Cricket Club, Connaught Drive When: Thursday 22 September, 18:30 - 22:00 At this event the Ambassador-designate to Singapore; Mrs Dor te Bech Vizard & the new Consul and Deputy Head of Mission; Mr Henning Nielsen will introduce themselves and the Ambassador-designate will enlighten us with the latest developments in Denmark and initial

thoughts on Danish-Singaporean relations going forward. Please register by email to: dabs@dabssingapore.com by Wednesday 14 September 2016

ScandBizBar Where: 72 Boat Quay (down the stairs from South Bridge Road) When: Thursday 6 October 2016 Join us for another cosy ScandBizBar event at our beautiful riverside spot at Boat Quay. It is a perfect opportunity to say hello to your friends and colleagues and a great way to meet new friends. As usual the first drink is free and after that drinks can be bought at heavily discounted prices. The event sponsors for the October event are Nordea Bank and Absinthe. Beside the always-generous Absinthe this event is sponsored by Nordea Bank. In the Nordic circles in Singapore nobody should be in doubt about what that stands for. Nordea is a true Nordic operation, created by mergers of banks in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. At the brand new office our staff is ready to give members of the four Nordic Business Associations the best possible service. Some of them will be present during the event looking forward to explain what the bank can do to make life in Singapore easier for you and your business.

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ScandAs

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore. We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.

Get your own FREE copy: scandasia.com Publisher : ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169

Slush Singapore Where: Resort World Sentosa, Sentosa When: 20 September Finland-based Slush arrives to Singapore, during the inaugural Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH).Organised in partnership with Singapore’s major innovation and enterprise event Techventure, Slush Singapore will take

place at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Sentosa, Singapore. Slush Singapore will gather together startups, tech talent, investors, and media from around the world. The event is expected to attract over 1,000 attendees globally, including start-ups and investors. This year’s theme is about technology and future creation, the changing economy and reinventing education.

Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Frank Leong frank@scandmedia.com Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

News Brief

Fika celebrates eight years, announces seasonal menus Text and photos: Joakim Persson

n 17 August Fika Swedish Café and Bistro celebrated its 8th birthday, with invited guests and VIPs in attendance, including the Swedish Ambassador couple, Ambassador Håkan Jevrell and his wife Catharina Jevrell. ‘Fikas Födelsedag 2016’ took place at their outlet located in the Bugis district, also simultaneously celebrating Ambassador Håkan Jevrell and fika co-ower Joakim Smidhagen’s respective birthdays. The owners Tasneem Noor-Smidhagen and Joakim Smidhagen also took the oppor tunity to launch a new seasonal version, with the first one being a summer menu including sumptuous dishes such as Dillkött, Stekt halibut and Gravlax på knäckebröd. The new menu was offered for tasting by the birthday guests and Joakim also invited them to give feedback on the menus onwards, welcoming any suggestions, and of course feedback on the dishes. Joakim said the new seasonal menus have the intention to strengthen Fika’s footprint of serving only authentic Swedish food even fur ther. All recipes are either traditional authentic Swedish dishes, (non-traditional) authentic Swedish dishes or their own Fika style version of Swedish recipes. The occasion of course also included a birthday cake that was served, celebrating the three birthdays in one go. Joakim fur thermore made another big

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

announcement that a fourth outlet is about to open in September in the form of a bakery store, to be named Konditori, which will be situated almost opposite the nearby Sultan Mosque on Muscat Street. ”We already have a little bakery inside one of the outlets. Not so long ago, one of our café bakers said that they needed a place on their own in order to be able to supply all three outlets”, the owners previously told ScandAsia. To open their stand-alone Swedish bakery was the ultimate solution to the space issue. Now, the cafés can be even better supplied with freshly baked goods, and the bakers will have their own place. Fika is very strict on following own recipes and thus cannot source bread from outside. The owners are determined to keep their business idea of making all food themselves and following Scandinavian standards.

Konditori will also offer the genuine Scandinavian dark rye bread, and aside Swedish bread also European baker y such as French croissants, as well as gluten-free options. Fika Swedish Cafe and Bistro so far have three café outlets in Singapore, and that are 100 per cent Halal. This means that no alcohol can be preserved on the premises, but Joakim explained to the invited guests that there is huge demand for Halal-cer tified establishments by the Muslim community and visitors. They may be a small group of the total population and visitors to Singapore but, informed Joakim, they are big spenders on dining. Guest of Honour, Ambassador Håkan Jevrell praised fika as a ”Swedish concept of highest importance. It’s an extremely great footprint in Singapore.” There had been too little of Swedish food footprint in Singapore previously, thought the ambassador and said that it was highly appreciative to get to gives suggestions for menu items. Jokingly, he said that one summer menu item was missing, namely Surströmming [the Nordic extremely bad-smelling dish sour herring]. “This is a very nice setting and feels very Swedish,” Mr Jevrell also remarked. Fika Café first opened in 2008, with the concept of making Swedish food available for everyone.

September 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ ScandAsia.Singapore 5

News Brief

Mr. Fredrik Härén

Sweden gears up for its first SEA business summit in Singapore By Joakim Persson As the first ever, and very timely ‘Sweden– Southeast Asia Business Summit’ is around the corner (21–22 of September 2016), Team Sweden presents the details for the two days in Singapore include an exciting and relevant programme, and key political and high-level business representatives from Sweden, such as Mr Mikael Damberg, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation; Mrs.Ylva Berg, CEO, Business Sweden; and Mr Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board, SEB, SAAB Group & Foundation Asset Management. Forecasted as a strong growth market onwards, Southeast Asia requires business leaders and entrepreneurs to have a clear understanding of the developments in the region. The Sweden–Southeast Asia Business Summit provides an excellent opportunity to get insights from industry peers and policy experts and to meet with potential partners. On Day 1 Mr Marcus Wallenberg and Mr. Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer and Director of DBS Group will hold keynote speeches, followed by the first session, kicking off the summit with a heavy-weight topic to paint the picture of the region’s forecast and potential for the near future: ‘Economic and Political Outlook on Southeast Asia - Brief introductory remarks’ followed by a panel discussion based on the themes: • Southeast Asia – Asia’s new growth engine • The regional free trade agenda and greater regional economic integration including the ASEAN Economic Community – what’s in it for business? • Southeast Asia - stepping out of China’s shadow? • The US, China and Southeast Asia – new geopolitical realities In session 2 the summit looks ahead to ‘Southeast Asia in 2020 – key factors for 6 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

businesses to consider’. Mr Christian Ihre, for instance, presents insights to ‘Who is the Southeast Asian consumer?’ in a panel discussion. Christian Ihre is Co-founder & CEO of LynxEye Management Consultants, an awardwinning Brand Agency in the Nordic Region. He set up a Singapore office in 2012 and has since led the Asia operations. In a second panel discussion Mr Andreas Ehn and Ms Lisa Enckell will bring forward the topic ‘The future of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia’, while Mr Dušan Stojanovic, Founder and Director of True Global Ventures will present: ‘Enabling financial inclusion through Fintech – opportunities in Southeast Asia’. Andreas Ehn and Lisa Enckell are angel investors and consultants based in Singapore who decided to explore ten different countries during the course of five years. In every market they work with local start/ups and investors and look for potential start/ups to invest in.They both have a background in founding and working for technology companies in Stockholm and San Francisco. Andreas was Spotify’s first employee and chief technology officer (CTO). Dušan is described as a ‘citizen of the world’ with a Swedish passpor t. He was awarded the prize Business Angel of the Year in Europe in 2013 by EBAN (European Business Angel Network) after having three positive exits within a week. He was announced as among ‘Fintech Asia 100 Leaders’ In Asian Fintech in 2016 after moving to Asia in 2014. As promised the summit will also present ‘Success stories – per spectives from the ground’, where Swedish companies share their experience of doing business in Southeast Asia. Representatives from Axis Communications, Ericsson, Scania, Stora Enso and Volvo Trucks will present their insights.

The first day closes with a Gala Dinner, hosted by Mikael Damberg, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation and Mrs. Ylva Berg, CEO of Business Sweden. Mr Fredrik Härén, the author of nine books, including ‘The Idea Book’ will be its ‘inspirational speaker’. Fredrik informed ScandAsia that he will be speaking on “the need for innovation and about why Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia are so good at it, and also about why the idea of Sweden as an innovative country should not exist ;)” “I will also talk about the opposite, what Sweden can learn about innovation from Southeast Asia.” Day 2 continues with a topic of most impor tance to the Swedish Government: ‘Sustainable business in Southeast Asia. Challenging perceptions and contribute to change – what Swedish companies can bring to the table’. Mikael Damberg, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation will give his introductory remarks on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a competitive advantage’, followed by a moderated panel discussion and Q&A ,where representatives of among others H&M and IKEA will attend. Why it is impor tant? Sustainable business represents values which the Swedish Government and Swedish society seek to safeguard and promote. Companies with long-term, sustainable business models are more likely to survive in the long run, and so on. Sustainable business strengthens both longterm value creation and our competitiveness, and contributes to the achievement of societal goals. Swedish enterprises that enjoy good relations with their stakeholders and the world at large strengthen their risk management processes and are more attractive to business partners at international level.

News Brief

Singapore Smart Nation: Sweden benchmark for cashless society

ingapore plans to reduce the role of cash and checks in its economy by encouraging banks to switch to digital payments, according to the head of the country’s central bank. Speaking at a Finntech (financial technology) conference Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) referred to things pointed out in a KPMG report, ’Consumer payments in Singapore are unique among highly developed economies’, including that cash in circulation in Singapore is 8.8% of GDP, compared to 4.4% in Australia and 2.12% in Sweden. Also, in Sweden, the total number of cheques issued is so small that it is effectively zero on a per person basis. “The economic cost of this heavy reliance on cash and cheques is not trivial,” said the central bank head in his speech. “Our studies, conducted together with KPMG, estimate that the social costs for cash and cheques is around 0.5% of GDP, or about S$2 billion per year. A good part of these costs can be attributed to the cost of securing cash, both in transit and in storage, and processing cheques. “Singapore has embarked on a journey to become a Smart Nation. We want to embrace innovation and harness technology so as to increase the productivity of our businesses and enhance the welfare of our citizens,” said the MAS MD. “The financial services sector is well placed to play a leading role in the Smart Nation project. MAS has been partnering the financial industry to

create a Smart Financial Centre, where innovation is pervasive and FinTech is used widely.” “Our vision is to make Singapore an electronic payments society. A society that: spurs continuous innovation in payments technology; gives consumers maximum convenience and confidence in making payments; enables firms to increase productivity through payments integrated with business processes; and where swift, simple, and secure payments is a reality for everyone.” Aside engaging KPMG Advisor y to study Singapore’s payments landscape MAS has been working closely with the financial industry and other government agencies to drive electronic payments. MAS elaborated on the four key strategies to create an e-payments society. “First, we will streamline our regulator y framework for payments; strengthen consumer protection; and make regulation more targeted based on the specific payment activities that businesses undertake.” “Second key strategy: we will put in place an inclusive governance framework that brings together different stakeholders to guide the development of Singapore’s payments landscape in a coherent way.” The third strategy for an e-payments society is a payment infrastructure that is inter-operable, that will enable swift, simple, and secure electronic payments for everyone.

“We’re star ting from a good position. To quote the KPMG report on Singapore’s payment landscape, ’the underlying infrastructure is worldclass’. And Singapore has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world and wireless Internet access is pervasive. Yet, our payments preferences remain largely paperbased: cash and cheques.” Payment of bills in Singapore needs to be made less cumbersome, continued Mr Menon. “The future should be one where we can securely and seamlessly pay our bills online, without having to: fill in our card details for the umpteenth time; or fill out lengthy paperbased GIRO forms to authorise standing payment instructions which take weeks to be approved. MAS is working with the banks and the payments industr y to create seamless bill payments and collections. The fourth strategy is to help businesses to digitise their processes and integrate them with electronic payments solutions, so as to maximise productivity and efficiency gains.

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September 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

Ergonomic seating solutions

from Scandinavia gains footing in SEA By Joakim Persson

u m a n s a r e b u i l t t o m ov e throughout the day, performing various tasks at various loads. We are not designed to sit still or be stagnant. Therefore, being stuck all day at office workstations is detrimental to our wellbeing, while movement and variation are therefore essential for staying healthy, productive and to prevent chronic back pain. This forms the basis for the innovative office chairs provided by the Nordic company Scandinavian Business Seating, SB Seating in short. They develop and produce Scandinavian office chairs for private and public office environments, chairs that are designed with people and their needs in focus. Hence, the chairs are designed to make sure you won’t have to sit in any unhealthy way. SBSeating’s products are deeply rooted in the Scandinavian design tradition and share the same values and a common identity. These also contribute to work performance improvements, based on its four brand’s common core values. Those are: the most environmentally sound products in the business, a balance between good ergonomics and aesthetics, human-centred functional design, and the right quality at the right price. “We have been pioneering most of the markets in Scandinavia when it comes to office furniture. And as we spend 5 per cent of our turnover on R&D, we are continuously improving our products.” With presence in Singapore, their Regional Sales Manager, Southeast Asia Henrik Meltesen, explains their differentiation and solutions further and how they are making inroads in Asia and also winning new multinational clients from this office. Henrik has been with Scandinavian Business Seating Asia for the past four years, and prior to that he was in the construction business in Thailand.

8 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

People know us for the ergonomics, and now we we’re becoming known for our visual design too. And customers can know from the delivered projects that the quality is very high

SB Seating’s brands represent strong entrepreneurial companies with long tradition and experience in the development, production and sale of office chairs. HÅG has existed since 1943, RBM since 1975 and RH since 1977. In addition to being a market leader in office chairs they have secured by far the largest market shares in the European market. “The brands complement each other. We do everything you need within a business setup such as canteen and meeting rooms and whether you are tall or short,” tells Henrik. “Everything must follow our four cornerstones.” Environment: Their products are tested in accordance with a number of international quality standards for functionality, dimensions, finish and durability – where they always excel. The group is also resolved to pioneer a sustainable development, with design and manufacturing according to five basic life cycle principles. Quality: Their goal is to deliver perfect products and constantly strive to offer their customers work chairs and office chairs with a quality above their expectations. “It must last for a longer period time; and that complements the environmental side; we’re the greenest office furniture manufacturer worldwide.” Visual Design: Form follows function, which is their key philosophy - because they always focus on the people using the products and adapt them to fit the human body. Ergonomics: Every person needs movement, support and variation to perform well. The chairs of one of their brands, HÅG, aim to change the concept of sitting, by enabling balanced sitting that keeps you moving. They follow the movement of one’s body without one even having to think about it, and encourage movement throughout the day. “We can definitely improve the life quality of

the people that uses the Capisco chair from HÅG. We work a lot together with chiropractors and physiotherapists and the people who look after health and safety in a company. For example they may tell that they have an employee with a bad back. They send him or her to us to find the right chair or solution or we are already working with the company and next time when they change furniture they’ll offer us to come along.” For instance, SB Seating recently spent a year, doing chair trials for a major client in Singapore in figuring out whether or not the Capisco chair was the right thing. “They bought height-adjustable tables and were not maximising their use. Employees could either work standing or sit in their regular office chairs. After the trial of the Capisco chairs, the employees learned that they could have a variation in sitting. It was no longer just standing or sitting at a low height. Instead they could sit up high and maintain a strong core position, which is only achievable with the Capisco chair”. With this kind of chair SB Seating has gained a lot of traction in Singapore. “People know us for the ergonomics, and now we’re becoming known for our visual design too. And customers can know from the delivered projects that the quality is very high. So we’re getting all the four cornerstones recognised within the market as we align ourselves with businesses. But we always start with the functionality part, because that’s the most essential element of the chair. As for the rest, people realise later on during daily use of our products.” The cornerstones relate to the wellbeing of the workers and when long-lasting the product is good for the environment as well. “As our products have ten-year warranty, with an expected lifespan of 15-20 years, we are not too worried about the price; it’s more the

functionality that we focus on. If you have a good ergonomic chair in your office your productivity level can go up something between 5 – 15 per cent. The fact that if the people who are the key business drivers in the business are provided with good ergonomic chairs that shows on the top and bottom line. So the break event point should really be within a few years.” Setting up in Singapore was initially to support the existing accounts from back home, which includes many Scandinavian firms such as DNV, Maersk, Statoil and Telenor. There are also Nordic firms and people who have been out here a long time who are not yet aware of their products. “We see a slight challenge in terms of cost in the market as well. There are some businesses that do come out here because Asia is cheaper to operate in. Their budget may allow only a cheaper chair locally, so that sometimes puts a stopper to even the Scandinavian companies. Luckily most say that they want comply also here with everything they do back home and want to be unified in how they appear globally.” Part of the efforts is to educate the market. When visiting workplaces SB Seating come across a lot of issues, which are the same regardless of geographic place. “The only difference is that in Nor thern Europe, in particular, we are more advanced in regulations towards the workers, whereas that is at very early stages out here,” says Henrik. The Singapore office also plays another significant role for SBSeating in making inroads internationally. “From Scandinavia you might not get that kind of opportunity and Asia is still the place where most things go on.”

September 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Photo: Petri Anttila

Nurturing entrepreneurship and start-ups:

Finnish ‘Slush’ front runner By Joakim Persson

hen Slush for the first time entered China and Beijing in 2015 to encour age Chinese entrepreneurs the Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä attended. That speaks volumes about this grassroots event from Finland, whose annual main Helsinki event these days draw around 15 000 visitors from worldwide! Slush is organized by a non-profit community to allow the next generation of great companies to have the ecosystem they deserve to succeed on a global level. It is built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, and it is meant for growth companies of all stages and industries. Slush brings the relevant investors and start-ups to the same place and makes sure that the right start-ups meet the right investors in one-on-one meetings. Meanwhile, Slush also has a reputation of being very different from ordinary tech conferences. As Slush arrives also to Singapore there is plenty of excitement around it and ScandAsia talks to Anna Ratala, an entrepreneur who is behind the steering wheel of Slush Singapore. “Anybody who has heard of Slush before gets very excited that it’s coming to Singapore. We have so many people not just from Southeast Asia but also from the Nordics, USA, Russia and the rest of Asia coming to attend,” says Anna, who last 10 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

spring jumped into conversations about possibly organizing Slush in Singapore, her base, as well. “I thought that if I would have the possibility to be involved in something like Slush and help bring this whole culture of celebrating start-ups and entrepreneurship to Singapore together with the local community - then I definitely wanted to do it. And here we are!” To introduce the Finn, she runs PineCone, which helps international technology companies to take the first steps in new markets in Southeast Asia, helping them with sales and bringing in their first clients in the region. She arrived to Singapore with her husband five and half years ago and first worked with Meltwater, a Norwegian-originated SaaS company, running one of its Southeast Asia sales teams. In that capacity she really got to know this scattered region’s diverse business cultures. The experience then formed the basis for starting her company. I realized that my strength is actually in sales and in the ability to connect the overseas companies to SEA. I have gone through the pain of doing business in the region as a newcomer and it’s not easy, so I want to help other companies have an easier start when expanding to SEA, and I want to do it with a very strong sales focus.

“There are all kinds of experts on marketing, research and markets, but someone’s got to do the actual work and close some business. And if you are situated in Finland, Sweden or elsewhere and have zero experience from the market here, how are you going to do it? That is the problem PineCone is solving.” Currently, however, it is all about Slush for Anna. This non-profit has been growing very organically and from-the-ground-up, and is still very much focused on volunteers and students. It began back in 2008 when some entrepreneurs learned that very few students wanted to start their own business. They had thought: ‘Maybe we should do something about it; let’s get together and talk about entrepreneurship and interesting start-ups.’ Thus Slush was born. “Back in Finland Slush now has a core team working throughout the year to put all the bits and pieces together. But still the majority of that whole organization comes from the volunteers, consisting of students, entrepreneurs and other people coming together wanting to do something for the start-up scene, which is pretty remarkable.” “Slush is a global movement; more than an event it’s a mind-set. The reason why it has become so successful and makes waves in so many countries is that it’s heavily community-led; you have to co-create the event to truly be a

Photo: Petri Anttila

event arrives to Singapore part of it and that is exactly what Slush does. So the students who are your future entrepreneurs, current entrepreneurs and anyone else who really wants to be part of the party come together and co-create Slush. The power of doing things together is amazing!” What Anna also finds quite striking is how in the past years Slush has really been able to shift the mind-set towards entrepreneurship in Finland. “Eight years ago being an entrepreneur was not really a thing in Finland or many other countries as well. It was not like everyone wanted to do it. Today more people are open to take the entrepreneurial risk and they see what it can do; actually something that might start small can grow into something big. And we have some very nice success stories from Finland that have done that, like Supercell and others.” Now Slush, with the help of almost 200 local volunteers, are out to build this kind of culture also in Singapore, so that this Slush community can do other things together once the event is over. “I really believe the community that is involved in creating Slush Singapore will only grow and continue to stay active also in-between the events, based on what we’ve seen so far and the strong interest from volunteers. It’s super encouraging because we don’t want to simply do another event - we want to create something bigger than that, we want to create a movement.”

Crucially, Slush Singapore is also partnering with the Singapore government’s National Research Foundation (NRF), as its Techventure, in partnership with Slush Singapore, is an anchor event under the inaugural Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH), a new ‘Tech Week’ concept that brings together partners in the technology, innovation and enterprise ecosystem in a series of complementary events in Singapore. Techventure, in its 20th year running, is a major innovation and enterprise event organised by the NRF and by partnering with Slush Singapore, it will showcase Singapore’s vibrant innovation and enterprise ecosystem to the international community. This year’s theme is about technology and future creation, the changing economy and reinventing education. “We are actually bringing the grounds-up approach of Slush to shake up the traditional tech conference aspect of Techventure. It does not make sense for the government to organize these events for the start-ups because only start-ups know where they are going. Rather, the start-ups should lead the way in building the eco system and the government should support. We are very fortunate for our great collaboration with NRF so far and are looking forward to seeing how we can together help start-ups succeed in Singapore and in the region. Being the central hub for star t-ups and

established companies that are interested in emerging technology, Slush can be a great support when starting up a new company. And enterprises meet the tech of tomorrow. “They can come to look for example for the talent in the region, as we are inviting a lot of the start-ups from across Southeast Asia. If you are looking for the next big thing, if you are looking for talent to maybe expand into a particular area, Slush Singapore is the perfect platform. With regards to the Nordic companies it would be quite fun to see some kind of collaboration as well. Maybe next year for Slush Singapore there could be a pre-event organized by some Nordic corporations, reaching out to the region here, sort of stand united as: Hey we are Nordics.” “The look and feel is definitely going to be very Slush, a cool vibe with a local Singaporean twist,” promises Anna. You basically come to a different world. If you would close your eyes and then wake up in Slush you would not understand it’s a tech event – it’s just something beyond. And people are very engaged and interact with each other – because they actually want to be there. They want to be part of something that is greater than an event. That’s the great thing about Slush, it’s more than an event; it’s a mind-set. You’ve got to experience it to really understand it.” September 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

Marija Avdic lights up Sin In many ways female entrepreneur and founder of Creative2, Marija Avdic, reminds of the little mermaid from the famous Danish fairy tale: a beautiful and passionate woman, determined to follow her heart. The little mermaid went ashore, and Marija went overseas, from Denmark to Singapore, where she started a business of selling handcrafted Italian lamps. But just like any other fairytale, the path towards the goal is not easy. “But not impossible either,” says Marija Avdic. Get inspiration from her story, see the light! By Maria Andreasdottir

ission impossible. These two words are her mantra, and according to her they are no fairytale, they’re fact. Love was the reason she moved to Singapore, where her husband was already established in a job. “My friends in Denmark asked: ‘What? You’ll move to the other side of the world - without a job? What are you going to do?’ My friends were worried, but I wasn’t. I would pursue a job, and I would not be choosy,” says Marija. Finding a job would not be the most difficult thing, instead it would be tough to leave her family. From her Serbian roots, one of her strongest values is being close to her family. She was excited for a new life chapter with marriage and a life overseas, though. She was happy with her new life in Singapore, where she had her husband and an office job, and she was in touch daily with her family in Denmark through Skype and telephone.

12 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

ingaporean homes Then, in 2012 her world fell apart when her sister passed away.The distance to Denmark, to everything, was suddenly way too far. “No words are sufficient enough to describe how much it hurts to lose someone you love so deeply as your sister,” says Marija. She was very affected by her loss, in fact so much that she quit her new job in Singapore and returned to Denmark to be with her family. Her life was on standby, and she only survived the days from the love of her husband, family, and friends. She invested most of her time reading motivational books, but she needed an extra kick to get herself back in the game. As the old phrase goes, there is always light at the end of the tunnel even in our darkest hours, and in Marija’s case, it literary was lights. Lights from a little Italian craft shop, to be exactly.

Creative2 – me and you “I felt like I stepped into a real fairy tale, everything was so beautiful: the lamps created an almost magical atmosphere.” Marija recalls when she walked into a little artisan lamp boutique on a holiday with her husband in Italy. Each lamp was handmade, and they were not made solely for illumination, the ceramic masterpieces were outstanding art pieces perfect for a glowing home decoration. While most visitors take home a little souvenir, Marija wanted to invest in all of the lamps. “I felt an immediate urge to be a part of this.” After her sister’s death, she desired flexibility in her life. That way she can be close to her loved ones no matter where in the world she is. She believed being her own boss was the answer. In 2015, one year after her visit in Italy, she had gained enough courage to contact the lamp designer and tell her about her new bright idea: “I want to sell these lamps.” The owner was fascinated about the passionate personality of Marija, and she was given the right as the only person in SIngapore to be a retailer of these luxury lamps. “I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to run a business, and I had no experience in lamps either.” But she did have two words in her head: mission impossible. “Jump, just jump into it! You know how to swim already, so why not take the chance? You cannot fail, you can only learn more.” She named her business Creative2 – me and you. Her lamps are shining bright in many Singaporean homes already, and the interest in the handcrafted ceramic lamps keep on increasing. It takes two months to have one made and delivered, and the waiting list is packed.To display the lamps, Marija uses her own home as showroom, which is delicately decorated with the help from her husband. Here customers get to fully and truly experience of the lamps, together with decor inspiration and advice. “I want them to feel like how I felt when I saw these lamps myself for the very first time.”

A bright mission With no knowledge of entrepreneurship, Marija is constantly improving herself through learning by doing, and has also taken courses in leadership, brand and business management. Today, she also sells pearls, yacht rentals, catering services, and event management. So what’s next? “I want to inspire women to succeed. I didn’t have years of experience running a business when I started out as an entrepreneur, but I knew I was in charge of making an effort, to take the first step. When you really want something, you go for it – you have to. I hope I can inspire women to take action and follow their dreams, knowing they are responsible for their own happiness.” From experience Marija knows about dark phases of life. From escaping war in Yugoslavia to Denmark, living in asylum and losing a loved one. But she has never accepted being a victim. “Since I was little, I knew I was in charge of myself. It was my responsibility to make myself succeed in life, and nobody else could be blamed if it didn’t happen.” Marija will continue to light up Singaporean homes, but she is determined to light up hopes, too. “If I can do it, so can others. We have to stop postpone our dreams, but realize them when we have them. We only live once, so we have to make the most out of it. The mission is possible.” September 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

News Brief

Global Innovation Index: Fourth Industrial Revolution coming

enmark, Finland, Singapore and Sweden are among the top ten countries in the most recent Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2016, with Switzerland retaining the top position for the 6th consecutive year. China also joins the world’s 25 most-innovative economies, marking the first time a middle-income country has joined the highly developed economies that have dominated the top of the GII in its nine editions of surveying the innovative capacity of over 100 economies. Despite China’s rise, an “innovation divide” persists between developed and developing countries amid increasing awareness that fostering innovation is crucial to a vibrant, competitive economy. “In this current economic climate, uncovering new sources of growth and leveraging the oppor tunities raised by global innovation are priorities for all stakeholders,” says WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. Fifteen of the top 25 economies in the GII come from Europe. Following regional leaders Sweden and UK are Finland (5), Ireland (7), Denmark (8), Netherlands (9), and Germany (10), which joins the top 10 in 2016. Among upper-middle-income economies, China (25th), Malaysia (35th), and Thailand (52nd) rank first in the region. Vietnam (59th) maintains its top place among lower-middle-income economies, followed by the Philippines (74th,) and Indonesia (88th). The GII theme this year is ‘Winning with Global Innovation.’ The report explores the rising share of innovation carried out via globalised innovation networks, finding that gains from global innovation can be shared more widely as cross-border flows of knowledge and talent are on the rise. The report also concludes that there is ample scope to expand global corporate

14 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2016

and public R&D cooperation to foster future economic growth. Bruno Lanvin, INSEAD Executive Director for Global Indices, and co-author of the report, underlines:“Some may see globalisation as a trend in search of its ‘second breath.’ Yet, the relative contraction of international trade and investment flows does give even more strategic importance to the two sides of global innovation: on one hand, more emerging countries are becoming successful innovators, and on the other hand, an increasing share of innovation benefits stem from cross-border co-operation.” Johan Aurik, Managing Partner and Chairman of GII Knowledge Partner A.T. Kearney, the global consultancy, says: “Digital has become a primary driver of strategy development and innovation for business in almost all sectors; I am convinced we are only at the beginning. Notably for established organisations, the challenge lies in finding ways to successfully innovate by using and transforming existing resources and business practices. Realising success in today’s new landscape requires creative, forward-thinking strategies that embrace digital and address the need to change the fundamental ways of working in the company.” Seven countries stand out on digital innovation with their high levels of networked readiness and entrenched business ICT adoption. And the technology-enabled innovation evident in Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands and the US will likely keep these markets ahead of the pack as it unleashes new competitive pressures that call for yet more innovation by tech and non-tech firms alike, according to the Global Information Technology Report 2016 from the World Economic Forum. Singapore ranks highest in terms of ‘network readiness’ with its ranking down largely to strong government commitment to a digital agenda,

including the market’s Smart Nation programme. The report says Singapore makes excellent use of digital technologies to provide access to basic and government services and to ensure that schools are connected. Finland places second, due in large part to its extremely good access to the latest technologies as well as to venture capital, while its businesses are highly connected, and the country gets high scores for infrastructure and skills. Third-ranked Sweden benefits from ver y levels of individual and business digital usage, with Swedish firms good at taking advantage of the fact that their consumer base is highly connected, giving the market one of the highest rates of B2C interaction in the world. The study is thinking big here. The report says we are at the dawn of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, with new systems built on the infrastructure of the third, digital revolution. The key factors here are the availability of global, digital communications, lowcost processing and high-density data storage, along with an increasingly connected population of active users of digital technologies. “As these individual technologies become ubiquitous, they will fundamentally alter the way we produce, consume, communicate, move, generate energy, and interact with one another.” The WEF also issues a warning: “The fundamental and global nature of this revolution also poses new threats related to the disruptions it may cause – affecting labour markets and the future of work, income inequality, and geopolitical security as well as social value systems and ethical frameworks.” The Global Innovation Index 2016 (GII), in its 9th edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Proper ty Organisation (WIPO, a specialised agency of the United Nations).

Your child’s early Passport to Success

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Part 1:

Creativity

INTRODUCING

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Australian International School Pte Ltd is registered by the Council for Private Education. CPE Registration Number 199204405H. Period of Registration 6 July 2015 to 5 July 2019

September 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15