ScandAsia Singapore - September 2017

SEP 2017

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore BUSINESS SwedCham Singapore is launched

START-UPS

PEOPLE

COMMUNITY

Slush Singapore returns

Jenni Risku at Women in Tech Asia

Your Finnish Dinner in Singapore

September 2017

ScandAsia Stories

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Your Finnish Dinner held in Singapore Singapore students bound for talent development pgm in Finland Magnus Böcker passed away

Mr. Jan Vapaavuori

Mayor of Helsinki comes to Singapore

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore theme

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ScandAsia Stories

6 Blue Ocean Robotics Southeast Asia

Ms. Jenni Risku

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The business kickstarter running Women in Tech (Asia) Conference

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Danish firm enters Singapore Joint Venture

8 SwedCham Singapore launched

President Jan Stjernström and GM Cecilia Oskarsson leads the new chamber

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18 Emerging Smart & Clean City Solutions

Finnish seminar during SWITCH week

Ms. Anna Ratala

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Head of Slush Singapore

SEP 2017

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore.

inki & Hels Finlandingapore in S ESS BUSIN Singapore am SwedCh is launched

PS START-U e apor

Slush Sing returns

PEOPLEat

u Jenni Riskin Tech Asia Women

UNITY COMM Dinner ish Your Finn e in Singapor

Front cover photo: Visit Finland

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We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.

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Community

Finnish Your Dinner held in Singapore

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n Singapore the Finnish Your Dinner 2017 was held at Hollandse Club Singapore.

“Finnish Your Dinner is modelled on Dinner Under the Sky, an annual Summer event held in Helsinki.This August the festivities were extended to everywhere the sky is visible. Also in Singapore we had our own event with excellent Finnish food, drinks and spectacular company. August 26th started the 100 day countdown to Finland’s 100th Independence day on 6th of December 2017!”

Source: Embassy of Finland in Singapore Photos Marica Salokangas

Singapore students to attend talent program in Finland

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n early August Ambassador Paula Parviainen attended an event at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore with 20 students from the Overseas Merit Fellowship team, as they will go to Finland in September to attend a talent development program of 16 days focused on the Circular economy at the Turku University of Applied Sciences.

The different paths towards sustainability, the challenges to the creation of a circular economy, as well as the closeness to nature embedded in Finnish culture were all fascinating topics for the students attending the fireside chat event. Finland is aiming to become a world leader in circular economy, and young Singaporeans were eager to learn about the country’s experience.

“The adaptation of the regulatory framework is one of the main challenges to the transition towards a circular economy, but what is also highly important is the change in people’s mind-set. The young generation is giving a great contribution towards a more sustainable future, as they grew up with a mentality already focused on the long term, with an intrinsic sense of respect for the environment”, the Finnish Ambassador told the students.

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

During the event, they also had the pleasure to hear about the Finnish experience of Recia Lee, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic recent graduate who studied International Business and is now a volunteer at Slush. “Finland is seen as an advanced countr y in technology, it has a prestigious reputation” - Recia said - “it has nothing to envy

from Silicon Valley for its startup scene”. Recia found her internship in Helsinki through Slush Singapore, and is now still part of the Slush team, where she takes care of PR & Communications.

Source: Embassy of Finland, Singapore

Community

Magnus Böcker passed away

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agnus Böcker, who led the Singapore Exchange (SGX) from 2009 after the global financial crisis, has died from cancer in the United States. He was only 55 years old.

Mr Böcker,, who ran private investment firm Blibros following his depar ture from the exchange, passed away in St Louis, Missouri in the United States on Wednesday local time, said Jonas Lindstrom, Mr Böcker,’s partner at Blibros.

Mr Lindstrom told the Business Times that Mr Böcker,’s family had no comment.

According to a detailed obituary in Business Times, Mr Böcker,, who was born in Sweden, made his name on the global stage as a savvy dealmaker who helped to create the Nordic exchange group OMX, then led its eventual merger with Nasdaq. After a shor t stint as president of Nasdaq, Mr Böcker, was lured to Singapore in 2009 to take over SGX from outgoing CEO Hsieh Fu Hua. Mr Böcker,’s tenure at SGX was characterised by his goal to raise the exchange into a best-inclass platform in Asia, but also by his inability to replicate his dealmaking success in Singapore.

Most notably, he led an attempt to merge

SGX with the ASX, the Australian stock exchange, in 2010. That merger had suppor t of management teams on both sides and the Singapore government, but eventually fell to political opposition in Australia.

“A charismatic man with a quick wit, Mr Böcker made Singapore his home following his SGX appointment. Even after leaving the exchange, he continued to live in Singapore, where he ran his family’s investment office,” the Business Times ends it very informative obituary.

How can you make your money work while you enjoy life?

Kim Osborg Nielsen kim.nielsen@nordea.sg www.nordeaprivatebanking.com Nordea Bank S.A, Singapore Branch is part of Nordea Group, the leading financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions. Some products and services may, due to local regulations, not be available to individuals resident in certain countries and their availability may depend, among other things, on the investment risk profile of persons in receipt of this publication or on any legislation to which they are subject. Nothing in this publication should be construed as an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to purchase, subscribe to or sell any investment or product, or to engage in any other transaction or provide any kind of financial or banking service in any jurisdiction where Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch or any of its affiliates do not have the necessary license. Published by Nordea Bank S.A., R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 14.157 on behalf of Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch, 138 Market street Capita Green #09-03 Singapore 048946. www.nordeaprivatebanking.com subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg).

September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5

Business

Chee Bin Tay

C. L. Goh

Peter Tan

Blue Ocean Robotics arrives to Asia via Singapore JV

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lue Ocean Robotics (Denmark) on 14 August announced the opening of Blue Ocean Robotics SEA (Southeast Asia) with base in Singapore, where the needs of a rapidly ageing society and a focused political initiative on market development, are driving demand for robotics. The establishment is motivated by the government’s earmarked budget of SGD 450 million (USD 330 million) as part of The National Robotics Programme, to suppor t the societal robotic scaleup and industr y-level transformation from 2016 to 2019. From Singapore, the company will target the surrounding countries of Southeast Asia, whose 662 million population makes it the world’s third largest market (after China and India).

In Singapore Blue Ocean Robotics is set up as a Joint Venture that will also be the vehicle for Blue Ocean Robotics to work with users and partners in China – the world’s second largest economy (annual growth rate ranging from 6 to 7%) which is fast shaping up to become a future leader in innovative technology and business models.

“Blue Ocean Robotics SEA is excited to bring not just new technology but a new partnership model to the market. WE co-create robots in close par tnership with end-users and market leading companies. Thus, we bring developers, researchers and businesses together, to bring innovative robot solutions to the market by utilizing living labs as test beds. Asia offers a large pool of investors looking for new growth businesses. It is key to these investors that the technology has been verified by the end users to solve a scalable need in the market. By bringing everyone together in the development process, we can contribute to better quality-of-life, productivity and work environment for users and workers alike – in healthcare, education, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, offshore and logistics,” says Peter Tan, CEO and Partner of Blue Ocean Robotics SEA. “We are experiencing a great deal of interest in our RoBi-X partnership program from both private and public partners from the Southeast Asian region. On top of that we find it appealing that the Singaporean government funds a growth 6 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

program that will increase the development rate and demand in robotics over the coming years,” says Claus Risager, Rune K. Larsen and John Erland Østergaard, Co-CEOs and Partners of the Blue Ocean Robotics Group and based in Denmark, and continues: “Therefore, our mission in Singapore and Southeast Asia is first and foremost to team up with new partners from various markets and then together design, develop and commercialize a range of new generations of robots which will eventually lead to a portfolio of robotic spin-out companies to be located within the Singaporean tech community and to be on a steep growth cur ve for the benefit of the region and our business. We are also excited about having C.L. Goh, Peter Tan and Chee Bin Tay as our partners in Blue Ocean Robotics SEA. With this team to lead our activities in Southeast Asia we are well positioned to be successful.”

Peter Tan will take the seat as CEO. Peter has more than 30 years of management and operations experience in automation and robotics from the manufacturing, telecommunications, transpor tation and healthcare sectors. In the position he brings in-depth knowledge of international business, having set up green-field operations in Suzhou (China) and managing markets in China, the rest of Asia, Europe and USA.

The second partner is C. L. Goh, who is the founder of MMI Systems, a leader in industrial test equipment and robotics automation in data storage. He is also investor and board member in several start-ups in robotics and life sciences.

Chee Bin Tay, co-founder of AI4U, also joins Blue Ocean Robotics SEA as Director. Chee Bin Tay brings a proven track record and expertise in defence technology, an influential leadership role in future advanced material systems technologies, advanced ICT technologies and innovative transportation platforms. Chee Bin Tay is also investor and advisor to technology startup companies in nano-materials, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Blue Ocean Robotics creates and commercializes robots! Blue Ocean Robotics applies robot technology to create solutions and innovation for end-users and new businesses in partnerships. Through the RoBi-X partnership program The Danish firm create robots to improve quality-of-life, working environments and productivity. The RoBi-X par tner ship program is for anyone looking to disrupt their business, their way-of-working and improve competitiveness.

10th Annual ITB Asia 2017 25 - 27 October 2017, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

ITB Asia 2017 Key Conference Speakers

Tony Menezes Vice President, Industrial and Distribution Sectors IBM Asia Pacific

Min Yoon Founder & CEO Tidesquare

Rob Torres Managing Director of Advertising and Marketing Google

Ike Anand Vice President, Strategy and Business Development Expedia group

Buhdy Bok President Carnival Asia

Sean Treacy Managing Director, Asia Pacific Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd

September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

Business

SwedCham

10 years ago, Cecilia Oskarsson started the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India. Today, Jan Stjernstrรถm is also on the board of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

the new Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore 8 ScandAsia.Singapore โ ข September 2017

The 35-year-old Swedish Business Association in Singapore officially transformed into a Chamber of Commerce, SwedCham, in July 2017. The chamber has a new General Manager, Cecilia Oskarsson, and a new President, Jan Stjernström.

Text and photos: Eva Eriksen

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ith two pairs of fresh eyes in charge , the Swedish Business Association Singapore has officially converted into a Chamber of Commerce. The idea is to create a direct link to the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) by becoming a subset of the umbrella organization. This will give the organization and its members extended access to the information flow on trade agreements and trade issues.

Through the Singapore Business Federation (SFB), SwedCham will become a member of the ICC, which in cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) determine rules and regulations around international trade. The main purpose of the ICC is to promote economic freedom, free trade, free competition, and harmonization simplification of rules and routines, governing international trade. All of which are important to Swedish and Nordic companies, Jan Stjernström says.

New and improved

A key difference between the new chamber and the prior association is the subgroups. Not only are there more now, they are also reinforced.The point is to have relevant forums that include all types of companies that Sweden has in the region: from the small startups, the middle-sized, to the big and well-established multinational companies.

Depending on a company’s size, the members have different needs and so the idea is that they can talk and relate to other members in peer companies, who experience similar issues. The chamber’s function is to facilitate these discussions among themselves but also to cooperate with them.

“Something that we are tr ying to do differently is not only to work for the members but with the members,” Cecilia Oskarsson says.

Via the subgroups we invite the members to be an active part of the chamber and get involved in deciding what kind of activities we have. We want them to engage in the chamber.”

Another crucial change is an updated website that will feature more links to other chambers’ and organizations’ sites. The events that are relevant to the individual members will likewise be easier to isolate.

The new administration wants to emphasize the importance of collaboration with the other chambers such as the other Nordic Chambers in Singapore and the Nordic Chamber in Manila, the EuroChamber of Singapore and other Swedish chambers in the region.

“Our job is really to facilitate contact between the companies. We want to be inclusive and open up to the other Nordic chambers and do things

jointly, because the Nordic countries have a lot in common, so I think we could gain a lot by working together,” the new President says.

A different structure, executor and directional guidance

Now that the organization is a proper chamber, a different set of rules and articulated goals are incorporated, including the establishment of a General Manager. Cecilia Oskarsson’s role is very hands-on. Her job is to arrange events and make contact with the individual members and companies. She is the face of the organization and it is very important to her that the new members see her as a human face, or, as she puts it: “It’s always nice to meet them in a casual way over a cup of coffee and just small talk a little bit”.

Therefore, the chamber benefits from being located in the same building as Business Sweden and the Embassy, whom they intend to collaborate even more with in the future.

As the head of the board, the new President’s job is primarily directional and communicative.

The new board consists of 14 members, on which all subgroups are represented. Two are non-voting members: the Swedish Ambassador and a representative of Business Sweden.

“We do roll up our sleeves. All on the board take responsibility and they are engaged and eager to make things better, which makes it is easier to contribute yourself,” the General Manager says.

Jan Stjernström, 62 • President of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, SwedCham, 2017• Country Manager, SEB Singapore 2014• On the board of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore • Mr. Stjernström’s career spans almost 40 years in corporate banking and life insurance, including holding senior position as Division Head for SEB’s life insurance business.

• Country Head of SEB Finland, 2004-2007.

• Managing Director at Citigroup where he worked in corporate banking for 21 years (1983 – 2004) • Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Stockholm and Doctoral level studies at the Stockholm School of Economics

Singapore is the place to be

The reason why the chamber is coming into existence right now is indeed the new President and General Manager. Nevertheless, the timing is particularly keen due to the chamber’s greater focus on international cooperation because as of right now, only two per cent of the Swedish export goes to Singapore and the ASEAN region.

However, according to Stjernström, this is going to change: “There is a huge potential here for further Swedish business because this part of the world is growing so much. We think Swedish companies will have greater interest in pursuing the growth of opportunities here”.

Countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia are tomorrow’s big markets.

Singapore is a natural place to use as a regional hub for a Swedish – or European – company, Oskarsson and Stjernström agree. It is an easy place to get started; you have the infrastructure, the law and order, and it is easy flying in and out.

It is “the Switzerland of the East,” as Stjernström calls it – “Asia for beginners”.

Cecilia Oskarsson, 44 • General Manager of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, SwedCham, 2017• Project Manager for Sales and Digital Marketing, Business Development, Comaea 2017• Country Manager, KappAhl 2010-2012 • Consultant, Accenture, 2009-2010 • General Manager, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India, 2007-2008 • IT Managing Director and later President of SWEA International 2014-2015 • Bachelor in Economics, Business & Economics, University of Sydney and Master’s degree Mechanical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore Photo: Petri Anttila

Finland and Helsinki to Singapore

Bring huge delegation, hosting

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s Finland celebrates 100 years as an independent nation in 2017 the Nordic country is strongly stepping up cooperation and partnerships between stakeholders in Singapore and Finland. Connecting people and fostering collaboration oppor tunities via more than 60 events throughout 2017 the effort will be at its peak with huge Finnish attendance and special attention during the annual Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH). A delegation of over 100 Finnish companies as well as government representatives etc. then comes to the City State, including through Helsinki’s ‘Designing Better Life’ events, while the Finnish start-up event Slush also returns with its second Singapore edition.

The high profile delegation of iconic technoprenuer s, government leader s and International experts in education, transport and innovation include Dr Kirsti Lonka (University of Helsinki), Ms Anne Berner, Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications, and Mr Peter Vesterbacka (Angry Birds cofounder) will be here to share knowledge and insights with Singapore.

The Mayor of Helsinki, Mr Jan Vapaavuori will also be in Singapore to participate in the various events and seminars, as the City of Helsinki partakes to “roll out new initiatives to engage the business community and to boost collaborations between Singapore and Finnish organisations”.

Helsinki will showcase the “Helsinki Mindset” (see separate story).

The main goal is to greatly strengthen the knowledge of Finland by building bridges to boost cultural and university exchange programs, tourism, business and investment opportunities with Singapore. Many of the participants from Finland comes to Singapore to showcase their capabilities and innovations and to seek tie-ups 10 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

with Singapore partners.The Finnish visitors hope to achieve new par tnerships and lasting new initiatives that will be a win-win for both countries.

Her Excellency Ms Paula Parviainen, Finland’s ambassador to Singapore said: “Finland and the City of Helsinki have certainly evolved over the past years. Today, Finland is ranked among the top 10 countries on the Global Innovation Index 2016 and Helsinki is voted the most open city in the world in the latest Millennial Cities Ranking which rates the top 100 places for millennials to live in 2017.

“As we celebr ate our centennial of independence (Finland 100), we believe we have to venture beyond the normal to the supernormal to create newer and smarter technologies and approaches to enhance business success and the lifestyles of people. This year, we want to step up cooperation between both Singapore and Finland – two superpowers in innovation and education – to galvanise our respective business communities to jointly contribute towards smarter and healthier solutions for all of us.”

Her Excellency also shared, “The relationship between Singapore and Finland is growing stronger every year. Currently, we have more than 140 Finnish companies in Singapore. We are also happy to note that Finnish businesses are increasingly keen to work with Singapore – in fact the level of interest has shot up significantly. Many Finnish businesses are keen to use Singapore as a strategic gateway to the rest of South-east Asia/ ASEAN. There will be a series of inspiring and engaging events organised by Helsinki and Finland 100 (or ‘Suomi Finland/SF100’) throughout the SWITCH Week. These events will unveil some of the bestknown global names in Finland – in education, innovation, design, technology as well as transport and healthcare. The main events include:

Emerging Solutions for Smart & Clean Cities (organised by Finland 100 and Helsinki) – 18 Sep (see separate story)

Finland and Singapore lead many international rankings in liveability, competitiveness and innovativeness. Both countries have sparse natural resources. The key to success has been being smart. Today one cannot be smart without being clean.

Helsinki will host an event to bring together leaders and experts to develop concrete ideas and share solutions for a better future in cities.

Solutions, such as autonomous vehicles and Maas, are examples of concepts that can be tested in real life city platforms in Singapore and Helsinki. Proven concepts will create new business. Finnish innovation fund Sitra evaluates smart city solutions markets being worth 1600 billion a year in 2020. This means the solutions and emerging technologies innovated in Finland and Singapore have nearly unlimited markets around the world.

Helsinki is a global pioneer in offering services and creating new businesses through smar t mobility solutions. The Finnish smar t mobility scene is very vibrant with many new service and solution providers focused on autonomous vehicles, car sharing, integrated mobility and smar t transpor t. To spotlight on some of the latest smart mobility solutions, Helsinki’s team of business experts bring the most relevant players from both countries to discuss, network and get inspired around these themes: Smart mobility, autonomous vehicles and MaaS; Efficient zerowaste cities and smart food; Smart and energy efficient built environment

Slush Singapore (by Slush Singapore) with Finland Pavilion - 19 Sep (see separate story)

and employ new solutions for the benefit of the maritime sector.

Designing Future Cities: Service Design and Design Thinking for Better Life – 20 Sep

Ambassador Paula Parviainen

Photo: Visit Finland

Mr Jan Vapaavuori

ng a range of events To be held for the second time in Singapore, Slush Singapore is the premier start-up launch pad of Southeast Asia – bringing together investors and entrepreneurs and innovators across the globe.

At Slush a Finland 100 Pavilion will showcase hot Finnish star t-ups and Helsinki. Helsinki calls for co-operation, exchange of ideas and ambitious projects with local parties to make innovative things happen together. Themed introductions and sessions are: Smart & Clean Solutions, Maritime Business, Health Technology and Education.

Finland 100 booth at TechInnovation technology marketplace event – 20 Sep

TechInnovation is a premier technology-industry brokerage event, bringing together international and Singapore technology providers and seekers to explore technology and business collaboration oppor tunities through open innovation. Since its inception in 2012, it has grown to become a leading conference and exhibition in Singapore that focuses on the matching of industry’s needs to enabling technologies.

Health Tech Finland (by Finland 100 and Helsinki) – 20 Sep

Finland positions itself as the Land of Future Health, with an array of unique strengths in technological application areas such as wearable devices and sensor technology. Helsinki has an established digital infrastructure, highest amount of digital health start-ups per capita, and excellent capabilities in medical technology and engineering, which supports development of future digital health solutions.

Finland in fact has one of the strongest health technology economies in the world, with a highly functional healthcare system, a unique pool of genetic information and an extremely

vivid start-up ecosystem. Singapore, meanwhile, has excellent health services and technologies, and Finland sees a true value in collaboration between these two countries.

Hence the capital of Finland, Helsinki, will organize a health and wellbeing event in Singapore in order to bring the most relevant players from both countries to discuss, network and get inspired around these themes: Digital healthcare & Medical Data, and Personalized health & wellness management.

The event will gather both small and big players from the public and private sector including organizations like Nokia, IBM, The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa and Nightingale.

Intelligent Maritime and Ports (by Finland 100 and Helsinki) – 20 Sep

The digital imperative enables far more effective shipping, ports and communication than before.

Digitalisation is a key driver for the maritime sector – creating new value while saving costs and resources to improve competitiveness. The aim of this event is to usher in new strategic partnerships between Finland and Singapore to seize these opportunities. The event highlights the most interesting recent developments on the field. It brings together companies and expertise to display Future Shipping including autonomous shipping and the latest developments in datadriven maritime business. These also reflect the future needs and opportunities on the maritime sector. For instance,Ville Tolvanen, Digitalist Group will present insights into autonomous shipping and maritime operations of tomorrow.

With a long histor y of innovations and successes in the field of information and communication technologies, Finland is a strong cluster of maritime and digital exper tise, test beds and innovative growth companies to create

Great potential lies in harnessing design methods and thinking when developing cities and public services.The ultimate goal is no less than to create a better life. Design can help in reducing risks involved in building new city spaces, infrastructure or services and in improving the existing functions.

It helps in ensuring that the right needs of the citizens are filled.

New ways of using design have become a topic in the public sector development. Fully embracing the creative and transformative power of design requires courage to do things differently, also through trial and error.

Singapore and Helsinki, the capital of Finland are both strong on design. The both cities are designated as UNESCO City of Design. This seminar brings for th what design can do for cities. The cases will highlight the ways in which Helsinki has systematically been using design to transform the city. The DesignSingapore Council will also be sharing the new vision for Singapore in DesignSingapore Council’s Design2025 masterplan, and how design will help to shape and power the next chapter of the Singapore story as an innovation-led economy, and strengthen the national identity by creating better spaces and services for its citizens, to make life better in a loveable city that Singaporeans are proud to call home.

Designing Future Education (by Finland 100 and Helsinki) - 21 Sep

The two “Super Powers in Education” will come together in this event to offer practical solutions to encourage lifelong learning. The event will explore a wide variety of perspectives, from education to digital learning, and social media applications to smart school buildings and creating conducive learning environment that encompass social media applications to help deal with the emotional, psychological and physical aspects as well as the challenges of education today.

One of the common challenges for both Singapore and Finland is how to future-proof their children through education.

Singapore has an excellent education system and has been number one in the recent PISA results. Finland was leading PISA for many years but decided to change the curriculum of education while still at the top.The new education curriculum; Phenomenon based learning use the natural curiosity of children to learn in a holistic and authentic context. It is important for learning 21st century skills like critical thinking, creativity and communication. Holistic real-world phenomena provide the motivating starting point for learning, instead of traditional school subjects.

This full-day, unique education and EduTech seminar seminar will deliberate the “soft skills”, 21st century skills like critical thinking, creativity and communication. Encouraging an entrepreneurial mind-set and digital solutions as tools for educating our students and developing their skills for the jobs of the future will be brought up.

September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore

“Amazing Women in Tech” Finnish-inspired concept brought to Singapore Text and photos: Joakim Persson

Jenni Risku is running Women in Tech Conference (Asia) (WiT below) – one of the prominent tech events under the Suomi Finland 100 Singapore umbrella that takes place as part of the Switch week (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology). This Finnish initiative was launched in 2016, put together in no time as a side event to the (also inaugural) Singapore edition of the Finnish start-up and innovation event Slush. Jenni, a Finnish entrepreneur/business kickstarter is taking this summit to the next level in this for Finland pivotal centenary year.

12 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

Annual meeting platform

WiT in Singapore brings together Asia’s leading female innovators to celebrate women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem).

When searching online for the keywords ‘women tech Singapore’ there is cer tainly no lack of results, with an abundance of groups and initiatives out there. How come there seems to be such a need, and movement, around women within technology? ScandAsia asked Jenni.

“Women in Tech are actually associated with about 30 women in tech groups here in Singapore as well as outside,” she begins. “We focus on one thing, which is our annual conference and bringing all these groups together. We want to facilitate an annual meeting platform for them as well, so we are actually trying to support, even unify, and make it more clear what kind of organisations that are out there to help you, in case you are interested in leadership, or looking for investment or looking for women who wants to invest in tech start-ups.”

“I think that there is also currently so much overlapping between these different groups that sometimes from the outside looking in it’s hard to kind of define who is doing what. So that’s something we are also hoping we could shape as well; we want to have them represented in the conference as much as we can.”

Women in Tech also exists in Stockholm, as well as in Finland, which inspired the start of this stand-alone initiative also in Singapore. At that time Jenni was involved in what is called the Nordic Female Business Angel Network in Singapore, aside engaged, as a self-employed project manager and advisor, in business development, investment and change/growth management projects.

“It started up when I had lunch with Anna Ratala of Slush [the world’s leading star t-up event] and Ambassador Paula Parviainen who asked if I wanted to run it. I was asked because of my time as entrepreneur and being the vice chair of the largely female-operated business angel network, one that was also looking for more women to invest into tech companies. There was a natural connection in that, so they asked me if I could do a first event based on having seen this event in Finland, which the ambassador was involved in. I took it from there and sculptured it.”

Hence, WiT was born, and from then on built from a ground-up and volunteer movement inside South East Asia’s tech scene. It is not arranged due to any lack of women within this stage; on the contrary: “We’re not doing the conference because women need an extra careful hand in terms of setting up tech companies or starting tech careers – that’s already happening. It’s more about us showcasing these people that are out there for the audience and through media,” Jenni tells ScandAsia.

Female role models

“I feel it like a kind of responsibility for us at WiT to pave the way and kind of showcase these role models. Especially for those studying in Stem or in the early stages of their careers, we want to showcase examples on stage that have kind of made it and that you can also relate to. We need more female Steve Jobs and Bill Gates speakers out there so that, already when you are in school, you can get these kinds of role models and get

to see the career paths that one actually has, because eventually this is where the world is going – towards tech!”

“I think the general bias has been that a lot of people assume that there are not a lot of women in deep tech building these products.

And we hope to change their perception with the WiT conference by presenting these amazing engineers that are out there; kind of like: look, we actually have a lot of women in tech! Maybe it is that people don’t know about it; it’s a very complicated issue. However we aim to break some of these perceptions.”

And thus males are more than welcome to join in. “We had 30 per cent men attending last year and we hope it will be 40 per cent this year.

We also have a lot of speakers who are men. We don’t want to build silos for men and women, I think it’s more about creating an option for women in tech to meet other women in tech – that has proven globally to help them in their career to push through – as well as looking to offer a lot of mentorship and focused content on site, such as facilitated networking. There will be a kind of concierge service on site to define the people that you need, with a kind of math-making service for mentors and mentees.”

“This goes back to the core of what we do; everything is based on research and data from powers that be who have been researching what helps women in tech in their careers and what helps these people to stay in the industry,” Jenni adds.

Studies from the U.S shows that many great female talents leave tech before they reach management level positions.

“One thing I have come to realise, and that I want to emphasize to other young women entrepreneurs or women that are looking to climb up in the ladder, is that there is a lot of camaraderie, with women in tech, women entrepreneurs networks and a lot of internships available for you, and a lot of tools and support that helps you to succeed!”

“The fir st event we did last year – a completely volunteer effort – was a huge success.

And the reason why it was is because of all this camaraderie and all of these networks and the amazing women in tech here in Singapore who helped us to do it!”

“One of my biggest advisors is David Lim, the licence holder for Tedx is Singapore – so not just women supported me in how to put up a great event when I had never previously done one.

So there are lots of great people and I am really passionate about that – to just raise awareness to the women that don’t know that these amazing assets of networks and camaraderie exits, and how much you would be able to do if you would be engaging in these networks.”

Jenni also highlights a MasterCard study from Australia earlier this year that motivates WiT’s engagement how more is needed to encourage young girls studying subjects in the field to pursue a Stem career. This ‘Girls in Tech’ research shows that women make up less than 30 per cent of the tech workforce.

“I was a little bit surprised myself how it can still be in the twenty-first century that 61 per cent of these young women who replied consider gender suitability as a key criteria for choosing a job. I am amazed that 45 per cent of young

women believed that Stem jobs are not suitable for women. That is a huge number!” comments Jenni. “And it got me concerned that almost half believed that men are paid more for the same job in the workplace.”

She says that such repor ts form one of the reasons for running the WiT Singapore conference.

Mentorship is key

In the WiT context, and the impor tance of mentorship, Jenni’s own career path, a Hong Kong Polytechnic University graduate, is also an interesting one. Wanting to remain in Asia after graduation she however ended up in Europe, as Head, when she was hired, as a 20-year-old, as the first non-Chinese member in the management board of ChemCentral Group of Hong Kong.

There she was tasked to diversify the group’s product and investment por tfolio and from industrial B2B trade into B2C business.

“Who can basically start their career as fresh gradate going out to negotiate with high-level members of the board in companies!? My boss basically sent me a list of questions of stuff that he wanted to find out and I was out talking to these people if we could invest in these companies. I had no idea what I was doing but my boss just gave me more and more responsibility. He’s the kind of the person that throws you into the sea to see whether you’ll swim or drown. He was really one of my first mentors. And I made many mistakes during my time there and I had to learn and become a grown-up, a professional, very quickly with the responsibility that I was given,” Jenni recalls.

And she too felt the effect of being a woman in such a setting. “Of course, and with my young age, and I was really this baby faced, blond, representing this Chinese investor and approaching these companies. It wasn’t easy; it was the most challenging thing that I have done professionally.”

How she could be entr usted this big responsibility she explains as a matter of perfect timing: “Because I already had experience from Europe, China and Hong Kong and kind of had already spent a decent amount of time with that company when the financial crisis happened and they decided they had to act fast. It was just easier for them to send someone they were already familiar with and that they would trust to do this kind of project development for them.

From that end I was lucky and I was also really determined, that: ’Whatever you throw at me, I’m trying to learn to do it.’ My boss gave me some responsibility at first, and it grew and grew by how much I was able to do. And he coached and really helped me. And I’m forever grateful for that because I don’t think I would be here today had I not done it and had he not been a mentor for me during those years.”

“Going back to mentorship: you need people around you that can help. This also goes back to why we need men in women in tech: for me and for many other successful women a lot of our mentors are men. And they just want to give back and they see a young prominent person that they want to help. So even if with the name we target women we are not excluding men and we shouldn’t and we can’t.”

September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore

Anna Ratala, Head of Slush singapore; Peter Vesterbacka, founder of Rovio and Slush

Slush Singapore

“Not your usual tech conference”

S

By Joakim Persson lush Singapore, the star t-up and innovation event, returns on 19 September for its second year with official involvement by the City of Helsinki (also the home town of the main Slush event). A Finland Pavilion will be showcasing Finnish star t-ups and Helsinki to the 3,000 attending tech enthusiasts from 20 countries.

Driven out of passion for helping the next generation of entrepreneurs forward, Slush Singapore is organised in association with the SWITCH week, out to challenge the status quo.

On a scale of black and white, how grey exactly is today’s world? This is the question Slush Singapore will be asking its speakers on stage, on the lookout for colours behind the traditional topics, revealing beyond expectancy and encouraging broader thinking than one believes to be possible. “We believe nothing in life is just black or white – but can you see the spectrum of colours within?”

“City of Helsinki is an official partner for Slush Singapore this year and also the main partner for Founders Day, a pre-event for start-ups happening on 18th September. We hope Slush can provide a platform for a deeper dialogue between Helsinki and Singapore, and offer future collaboration opportunities in various sectors,” Anna Ratala, Head of Slush Singapore tells ScandAsia.

Anna and her team takes Slush to next level based on the 2016 edition and all the input collected from investors, start-ups, attendees on how they can become even better. “The whole reason why Slush Singapore is organized again this year is based on the fantastic feedback we got from last year. We were able to create something unique in Singapore’s event scene and start a 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

grounds-up movement engaging 200 volunteers.

The strong support from the local and regional ecosystem is showing that we did some things right last year. And now, we want to engage even more people and create an experience that will blow them away!”

Anna points to two new things that Slush bringing to the table in Singapore: Firstly, the different level of volunteering. We’re not looking for free work force; such people rarely make great teams. We’re looking for dedicated doers who want to step up and really drive the direction to which Slush Singapore is going. We’re providing a fantastic platform for young people to gain new skills, take responsibility, practice leadership, make mistakes and learn from them. Secondly, we’re bringing some healthy competition to the events scene. There are lots of good events in Singapore but it’s difficult to reinvent yourself if you’ve been around for years with few challengers. Our Slush team is hungry for offering people next-level event experiences and we’re hoping to raise the bar for all events in the region and challenge them to be better, more innovative and always think attendees-first.”

The fast-growing star t-up scene in the region is also having an impact on Slush: “We can definitely see a lot more international attendees from the region, for example in an increasing number of Pitch Competition applicants from the region. This is a good sign as it tells the start-up scene is growing in the region. Another interesting development is the maturing of the star t-ups. While Slush caters more for early stage start-ups, we start to see many new names pop up, while the ‘usual suspects’ have moved on to raising their next rounds. There is still a clear mismatch on the VC side as majority of the VCs

in the region are still looking at seed to A rounds.

This dynamic will change in the next couple of years and I’m looking forward to showcasing some of the successful exits at Slush Singapore in the coming years!”

Time is on Southeast Asia’s side and Singapore is the hub: “Traditionally when you hear someone talk about Asia, you think of China. This is especially true for the Nordics.

When you say Southeast Asia, most people would know holiday destinations in Thailand or Bali. What people don’t realize is that this region has a population of 600 million people that are rapidly leapfrogging their way to the world’s fastest growing mobile mar ket. Countries like Indonesia or Vietnam have huge hidden oppor tunities wor th billions - but the world is yet to fully see the potential. Slush Singapore wants to welcome techies, entrepreneurs and investors to see a glimpse of that potential at our event. As a regional hub for technology, funding and talent, Singapore is a great spot to meet the region and build connections,” states the Finn.

Her three personal highlights from upcoming Slush 2017 are as follows: 1) Q&A Boomerang, a spot where our audience can meet & greet speakers and ask them questions. Can’t wait to catch Pocket Sun/SoGal Ventures and Taavet Hinrikus/TransferWise there, among others! 2) Pitch Competition, themed World Domination Tour. This year, we’ll be sending our winners to startup capitals of the world, such as Helsinki, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo and London. 3) Black & White after party - the legendary wrap-up for Slush Singapore and time to celebrate with all our 3,000 attendees!

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore

Helsinki comes to Singapore to boost collaborations, start-up exchange

By Joakim Persson

A

s over 100 Finnish organisations and entrepreneurs are coming to Singapore in September to showcase their capabilities and innovations and to seek tie-ups with Singapore par tners, the City of Helsinki is playing a big par t. Led by the Mayor of Helsinki, the Finnish capital city is bringing an unprecedented high-profile delegation of iconic technoprenuers, government leaders and international experts in education, transport and innovation to Singapore.

New initiatives to engage the business community and to boost collabor ations between Singapore and Finnish organisations will be rolled out from September 18 to 21, 2017 during SWITCH week (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology), where a series of inspiring and engaging events organised by Helsinki and Finland 100 (or “Suomi Finland/ SF100”) will take place.

These events will unveil some of the bestknown global names in Finland – planned around four main themes: healthcare and wellbeing, education, innovation and design. Singapore’s business community will get an experiential insight to the “Helsinki Mindset” - to see, share and experience what makes Helsinki the “coolest tech and business hub in Europe”, Helsinki’s world

renowned Slush (debuted in Singapore in 2016) being among these showcases.

Tech cool

Helsinki points to Slush, the annual start-up and tech event, organized annually in Helsinki, which gathered no less than 17,500 attendees in 2016 as a great example of its ‘tech cool’.

“Slush is a great example, its main event coming from Helsinki and having grown in few years into the world’s leading start-up event. We also bring many cool tech solutions with us, e.g.

Tuup, Nightingale and Claned,” City of Helsinki told ScandAsia.

The focus sectors that were picked are the ones that best match Finland with Singapore; in particular, e.g. Marine ICT, Health Tech, Education and Smart Mobility. Both countries have interest and high level of results and solutions in these fields, according to the City of Helsinki.

“Both Slush and the other Helsinki-related events are platforms for cooperation where star t-ups and corporations meet government organisations and other potential partners from Singapore and Helsinki. This enables corporations and governments to find new sources of innovation. For start-ups this is a great opportunity to communicate their innovations and find test beds and business potential for future.”

The reason for targeting Singapore Helsinki explained as follows: “Singapore is a gateway to the Southeast Asian markets and ranks high in technology. Helsinki and Finland offer high tech solutions in many fields that are of great interest for Singaporean.”

There is also a win-win purpose in this: “We want to learn from the best talents, organizations and ideas from around the world, and that is why we wanted to come to Singapore. We believe that when we solve challenges together we can design a better everyday life for everyone,” states Jan Vapaavuori, Mayor of Helsinki.

“Helsinki is about people with impact, actions with impact and encounters with impact – the business cases brought to Singapore Switch Week are illustrating innovation, cutting edge attitude and creative thinking of the Helsinki business environment. There will be a set of exper t seminars from 18 to 21 September covering the themes.”

“Additionally Helsinki and its hottest startups will be present at Slush Founders’ Day and Slush main event. Helsinki calls for co-operation, exchange of ideas and ambitious projects with the Singaporean community to make innovative things happen together.”

The Mayor states that Helsinki is a smart, safe and compact city, where modern urban life meets a beautiful diverse environment. The strengths of Helsinki are the talented people, a functional society, and the cooperation between businesses, universities and the public sector; boosted by a vibrant start-up community, which have resulted in Slush and numerous other success stories. The geographical location of Helsinki as the shortest route between Asia and Europe is central to their accessibility and position as leading transfer hub.

Helsinki Mindset

“The capital of Finland is one of the fastest transforming cities in Europe. The growth is not only physical. It is also in our minds.There is a new sense of purpose. It becomes evident through Helsinki’s civic initiatives, design excellence and disruptive innovations.”

Behind the “Helsinki Mindset” formula is that the capital city is a knowledge hub for people and companies that want to work towards a better world. For decades Finland has invested in education available for everyone and fostered the freedom to do and take the initiative. Helsinki September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore

Photo: Mika Lappalainen/City of Helsinki

Photo: Seppo Laakso/City of Helsinki

Photo: Sami Välikangas

Photo: Petri Anttila

has a compact concentration of talent where networking and accessing decision makers is easy.

This makes it possible for the citizens to roll up their sleeves and make things happen. Problem solving, teamwork, design thinking, and technology are their tools.

Change requires actions. Doing instead of talking is central for the mind-set that drives the inclusive change towards a more sustainable and prosperous future.

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area claims it is the best test bed in the world for smart and clean solutions. “New technologies and services are tested in different areas of the city. The best ones will be exported and will create thriving businesses. This will lead to a better quality of life and the growth of carbon positive solutions where they are adopted.”

“New ser vices in mobility and living will increase quality of life and mitigate climate change.

They will boost the circular economy and smart solutions will reduce food waste. Small and large actions build permanent changes. Citizens, cities and businesses are the doers. They are also the ones to benefit from the changes.”

All the stakeholder s in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region – “a unique environment for getting things done” – are committed to achieving remarkable results. They bring all the visionaries together in the changes that matter, to build the solutions to cities’ challenges and create new business.

And not afraid of bold words the Helsinki residents will “be the leaders showing the way forward” as they implement changes across five

sectors with significant impact. These are: 1) The world’s most attractive emission-free mobility (public transport is more appealing than private cars. Finnish service providers are leaders in mobility services in the world); 2) The world’s most resource wise citizens (enabled by unique Finnish consumer clean tech solutions); 3) The world’s smar test urban energy (Helsinki Metropolitan Area’s energy is produced efficiently and carbon-free. It enables the participation of citizens and directs them towards environmentally positive solutions); 4) The world’s leading circular economy city (circular economy, sharing economy, energy efficiency as well as the cooperation of companies and citizens to save resources is part of everyday life); 5) The world’s most sustainable built environment (where residential areas produce more energy than they consume and construction and renovations create wellbeing. Solutions are designed to the scale of the residential area, district or city. Solutions developed in the area are successfully exported globally.)

These bold and visionar y solutions in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area – projects, technologies, services and concepts – can be exported to world cities. Businesses making the changes can use the solutions as their references globally. Thus, coming to Singapore is really about turning intentions into practice.

“Both Singapore and Helsinki share the challenges related to the four most powerful drivers of change in today’s world: climate change, digitalization, globalization and urbanization.

Helsinki wants to create the most advanced everyday life in the world and focus on finding

16 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

solutions to global challenges; to be a city full of people, actions and encounters that make an impact,” stated the Helsinki Mayor.

Regional Headquarters

Helsinki will also launch of a new Regional Headquar ters scheme for Helsinki to pull in investments and businesses. “For Singaporean corporates, Finland has a lot to offer. First of all, Helsinki is an excellent gateway to Europe as we have the shortest route from Asia to Europe.

Secondly, in Finland the public and private sector has close relationship and active dialogue and we have attractive R&D grants and suppor t.

Compared to other European cities Helsinki can offer great talent, ecosystem and network possibilities. Also our cost level of European headquarter operations is very competitive. For instance the corporate tax is one of the lowest in Europe,” replied Marja-Liisa Niinikoski of the Helsinki Business Hub (HBH).

They presented some quotes from their clients and stakeholders: “Finland is not only a technology hot spot in terms of its digital expertise, but it also combines technology and engineering knowledge, thereby bringing software and hardware together in a single eco-system and a thriving start-up community.” - Michael Haralson, Deputy General Manager, Techcode Accelerator “Finland is an amazing gateway to enter the EU. Typically, when Chinese companies come to Europe they blindly think: London, Frankfurt, etc.

Now it is the right time to do the right thing.

Finland has rich resources for R&D; but you have

Photo: Sara Huhtinen /City of Helsinki to hunt out the right people, do so straight away, and make the most of the Finnish market which is both transparent and not as small as he first thought.” - Huber Hu, Powervision “Thanks to its strategic location, strong universities and a firmly established mobile sector, Helsinki provides the best possible environment for our international tech hub. Furthermore, we want to become an established part of the Finnish tech community and partner up with local startups in the future.” - Philipp Erler, SVP Technology, Zalando (German electronic commerce company seated in Berlin)

Smart City

As for ‘Smart City’ Helsinki is well on its way, with several initiatives to support this. The most important ones are the Smart & Clean project and the use of open data in developing the city.

Helsinki Metropolitan Smart & Clean Foundation’s goal is to make the Metropolitan Area and Lahti the world’s best test bed for smart and clean solutions by 2021. The ambitious projects aim to create growth and world class breakthroughs that improve the international image of the capital city region and Lahti.

Smart & Clean operates together with cities, governmental operators, companies and research and educational institutes. These initiatives can be technologies, solutions or services for citizens in for example the built environment, energy system and transportation.

Currently there are two ongoing projects and four very close to realization.The first two are Bio100 that will change all the busses and work

machines to waste based biofuels and Helsinki region Air Quality IoT network, which will enable comprehensive air quality data and prediction of air quality developments. Both can easily be scaled around the world and the Air quality network is also presented at the Emerging Smart & Clean city solutions event.

Helsinki is also a forerunner in open data and its Helsinki Region Infoshare platform provides citizens and businesses the data cities collect. Cities continuously collect and produce large quantities of data, which are utilised in the planning, production and decision-making processes. It is also utilised in the evaluation of municipal activities. Traditionally, this data has only been in the city’s internal use but since 2011 metropolitan cities have been opening this data.

The Helsinki region has over 70 identified test beds for new solutions ranging from complete schools to a dedicated street areas for new mobility solutions.These will be further developed in the near future. ”Most of the smart mobility developments in the Helsinki region are business based. This is enabled with close cooperation with the public operator Helsinki Regional Transport. Helsinki city is working hard on reducing car traffic in the area.

This is being done by making public and shared transport more desirable.”

“One interesting development is electrification of public transpor t. This is suppor ted by the Living Lab Bus (LLB) environment, whose goal is to enable the development, testing and demonstration of various ser vices and technologies by using innovative electric buses

as a concrete platform in a real use environment.

The innovation environment is implemented in co-operation with private companies and research organizations together with the support of the public sector. In addition to those involved from the beginning, the objective is to open up the development environment for use of third parties. This includes Finnish electric busses charging systems and also pay solutions.”

Noteworthy, the Mayor of Helsinki, Mr Jan Vapaavuori said: “Helsinki is a city in constant transformation – in fact, Helsinki is one of the fastest growing and developing cities in Europe.

Helsinki may be known for design, its quirky charm, beautiful Baltic shoreline and world-class education, but above all it is a safe and highly functional city.

“These are values we are committed to, and ones we have to deliver on, in order to become the best possible place to live, visit and do business. At the same time, we want life in Helsinki to be increasingly smooth, comfortable and fun.”

The Mayor also added that Helsinki had been voted the top place for Millennials to live in in 2017 (Millennial Cities Ranking) as well as the Economist’s top 10 list of best cities to live in.”

Founded in 1550 Helsinki continued as the capital after Finland gained its independence in 1917.

Helsinki is a modern city, with half a million residents, nicely situated by the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is the center of Finland’s administrative, educational and cultural life. It is also the finance and business center of the country.

September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17

Finland & Helsinki in Singapore

Emerging Smart & Clean City Solutions

T

he Finland 100 ‘Emerging Solutions for Smart & Clean Cities’ event on 18 September will highlight a very vibrant Finnish smar t mobility scene, with its many new service and solution providers focused on autonomous vehicles, car sharing, integrated mobility and smart transport.

Finish business experts will share product development oppor tunities, unique transpor t platforms, ter tiary and research collaboration possibilities as well as oppor tunities for partnerships to help Singapore companies tap into Helsinki's smart mobility ecosystem ( as the Finnish capital city is well on its way to becoming a smart city).

The seminar will highlight Smarter mobility – Better life: (Autonomous vehicles, Mobility as a service, e-mobility, Sharing economy) and Better built environment – Better life: (Smart Housing, Smar t energy, Smar t solutions for building /home automation management, energy efficient buildings, indoor air quality, architecture& design, Smart waste, Smart Environment, waste management, resource efficiency, recycling, reducing food waste) It is not enough to design a good building.

For better life a holistic view is needed to 18 ScandAsia.Singapore • September 2017

ensure sustainability and good life. Therefore new tools and approaches are needed. And new technologies enable completely new ways of considering mobility, be it traffic or transport.

This will, in turn, enable the reduction of private cars, traffic congestion or, in the end, the need to move around.

The ‘Smart & Clean’ project and the use of open data in developing the city are the two most important initiatives supporting Helsinki’s smart city ambitions. The new solutions come to fruition across city or sector limits, and the actors behind them are decision makers, entrepreneurs, researchers, citizens – all of us.

The next four new projects will consist of 1) storm water management with the focus on the quality of storm water and reduction of nutrients and other particles to waters 2) indoor air quality improvements 3) mobility solutions such as MaaS and autonomous vehicles 4) New smart energy district in Otaniemi campus area.

Within smar t mobility solutions the two main players in the new business are Tuup and MaasGlobal, who will both be at the event. They offer MaaS (shor t for Mobility as a Ser vice, brings all means of travel together. It combines options from different transport providers into

a single mobile service, removing the hassle of planning and one-off payments) services from ride shares to door to door ticketing and monthly subscription based mobility solutions, informed City of Helsinki.

The world’s first ever MaaS solution, Whim, was launched in Helsinki Region at the end of 2016, and more areas will follow in 2017. Itw allows users to book and pay for all mobility services in one app and for a monthly fee.

Another interesting new topic is the parking places’ AirBnB. The company Witrafi (www. witrafi.fi) has a solution, through which anyone can rent out their own paring space to others with very specific criteria, such as only during evenings or during office hours.

Helsinki is also a forerunner in open data and its Helsinki Region Infoshare (www.hri.fi/ en/).Cities continuously collect and produce large quantities of data which are utilised in the planning, production and decision-making processes. It is also utilised in the evaluation of municipal activities. Traditionally, this data has only been in the city’s internal use but since 2011 metropolitan cities have been opening this data.

Autumn roll

Food recipe

This roll can be served as a vegetarian dish or as garniture on the side.

Four persons.

Ingredients:

• 4 big potatoes (500 grams) • 2 carrots • 1 beet root • 4 eggs • 50 gram of spinach leaves • 1 onion • 1 clove of garlic • 2 tablespoons wheat flour • Salt and pepper

Directions

• Turn on the oven on 200 degrees.

• Peel and grate potatoes, carrots and beet root and press the liquid from the vegetable so the consistency will be drier. Mix with chopped onion and garlic.

Whisk the eggs with wheat flour, salt and pepper in a separate bowl and mix with the vegetables.

• Spread the mass on a paper covered baking sheet in a layer of approximately 1 cm.

• Bake the “potato cake” in 15-20 minutes.

• Wash the spinach leaves and leave them to drain while the baking is going on.

• Take the pancake out and let it cool for a short while. Turn it upside down and place the spinach leaves in the one end. Role the pancake with the leaves inside and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes.

• Cut the role in 1 cm thick slices before serving.

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September 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19

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