4 out of 10 Swedish Startups Expand Globally Through Overseas M&A

Korea is only 29%... "Need to Develop Business Models Based on 3S"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The proportion of Swedish startups entering the global market through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by overseas companies is more than 1.4 times larger than that of Korea.

According to the report "Investment Trends and Business Trends of Swedish Startups" published by the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, as of November last year, the investment attraction amounts for Korean and Swedish startups were $3.12 billion and $1.88 billion respectively, with Korea leading significantly. However, the number of startups that succeeded in exit, the stage of investment recovery, was 10 for Korea and 26 for Sweden, showing Sweden had 2.6 times more exits, the institute announced on the 22nd.

In particular, among these, exits through M&A by overseas companies were only 2 cases (28.6%) in Korea, whereas Sweden had 9 cases (40.9%), indicating that Swedish startups are more highly valued in the global market.

The report cited the '3S' based business model as the reason for Swedish startups' high global competitiveness, which presents a 'Solution' to 'Scalable' problems in a 'Sustainable' way.

Swedish startups are said to be solving various problems faced by countries and companies through the '3S' based business model that offers a 'Solution' to 'Scalable' problems in a 'Sustainable' manner.

For example, Karma intermediates food products with reduced sales value, enabling stores to dispose of surplus products and consumers to purchase products at lower prices, thereby creating new added value and reducing food waste. Karma successfully raised $12 million in Series A funding in 2018 and is now operating in over 150 cities including London and Paris.

Swedish startups such as Whywaste, which monitors grocery expiration dates, and Ignicia, which developed a prediction model tailored to tropical climates, are similar examples.

Kim Bo-kyung, senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, emphasized, "The 3S based business model is not yet widespread in Korea. As solutions to problems at the national and global levels are emerging beyond individual consumers and companies, our startups must also develop global competitiveness through the 3S based business model."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.