These are a few among the latest innovative stories reported at the event “Pioneer the Possible” in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 and 3 June 2022.
The two-day event, hosted by the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi and Business Sweden in partnership with the Ho Chi Minh People's Committee and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, aims to to promote and enable Swedish-Vietnamese partnership for sustainability.
Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe spoke at the event
The event showcased green solutions of Swedish businesses as well as a modernized image of Sweden as a hub for sustainable innovation.
“As a leader in innovation and sustainability, Sweden has the policies in place – and Swedish businesses the technologies – to drive the green transition. While more is always needed, Sweden is on track to become the first fossil-free welfare nation in the world”, stressed Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe.
“With this event, we want to promote and enable Swedish-Vietnamese co-creation for innovation, building on decades of partnership, to jointly work towards sustainable, resilient, and prosperous societies of the future,” continued Ambassador Måwe.
With keynotes, TEDTalks, seminars, panel discussions and an exhibition, Pioneer the Possible provides a common platform for Vietnamese and Swedish policymakers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators to engage in co-innovation and partnership.
The focus of the seminars during Pioneer the Possible range from sustainable energy, sustainable manufacturing, consumption, and material use as well as how to build a circular economy.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan said that Vietnam is very interested in fighting climate change.
Delegates at the event
“Sustainable development is no longer an option but the only path to be taken to free up necessary resources for development. We believe that Ho Chi Minh City’s pioneering in the field of sustainable development will have a positive spillover effect on the prosperous development of Southeast Asia”, Hoan said.
With insights from Swedish companies on the ground such as ABB, Ericsson, H&M, IKEA, Atlas Copco, Tetra Pak, and Vietnamese public and private partners, the event provides an offer to hear concrete examples of Swedish sustainability and innovation as well as how this could benefit Vietnam and the Swedish-Vietnamese partnership.
Technology and transformation towards a greener world are important keys in fighting climate change. In this regard, businesses have a crucial role to play, noted Mr David Lidén, Trade Commissioner and Country Manager Business Sweden in Vietnam.
“Innovation plays an important role in how competitive a nation stays over time - and it is important for the quality of life for a nation's citizens. At Pioneer the Possible, we are bringing and sharing inspirational, solution-focused, and future-looking stories from Swedish business side. We are looking for Vietnamese pioneers as co-creators and partners to set a new course together,” he said.
An innovation is more than an invention. It is a product, process, method, or service that has made it into society and has created value for people. With population of ten million, Sweden is a hub for innovation. Sweden’s capital Stockholm produces the second-highest number of unicorns (billion-dollar tech companies) per capita, and in Sweden overall, there are 20 startups per 1,000 employees./.