50 Stockholm municipalities attract foreign direct investments in unique business collaboration

A new contract period for the Stockholm Business Alliance begins at the turn of the year. Fifty municipalities in the region will work together for another five years to attract foreign investment, improve the business climate, and promote the region using the common brand Stockholm – The Capital of Scandinavia.

“Our competitiveness is strengthened by this collaboration, and it is very gratifying to see it continue,” says Sten Nordin, Stockholm’s mayor. “The Stockholm region is becoming an increasingly integrated region that can compete with other major regions in Europe. Its attractiveness is due to professional development, good infrastructure, and a favorable business climate, not to individual municipal boundaries.”

Interest in the collaboration has been strong since its inception in 2006, initially involving 33 municipalities. Now 50 municipalities are participating, from Gävle in the north, to Karlskoga in the west, and Oxelösund in the south.

Each municipality annually contributes 4 kronor per citizen, which co-finances Stockholm Business Region’s investment promotion department, activities to improve local links with industry, and an SCI measurement of local government services. Last year, this led to 71 qualified foreign direct investments, which is half of all comparable investments made in Sweden during the period. This places the Stockholm region in the lead position in Northern Europe.

 “This collaboration is unique,” says Olle Zetterberg, CEO of Stockholm Business Region, which manages the project. “It generates a continuous dialogue between municipalities in the functional Stockholm region and is a strength in our dealings with foreign investors. Other regions around the world are studying our collaboration model.”

Currently, the Stockholm Business Alliance consists of 25 municipalities in Stockholm County, 6 in Uppsala County, 8 in Södermanland County, 6 in Västmanland County, and the cities of Örebro, Karlskoga, Gävle, Ludvika, and Smedjebacken.

Press contact for Sten Nordin:
Helena Widegren, Head of Public Relations, Mayor’s office
+46 76-12 29 878, helena.widegren@stockholm.se

Per Holmlund, PR Manager, Stockholm Business Region
+46 70 472 80 69, per.holmlund@sbr.stockholm.se