Kategori: MEDLEMMAR

3 quick questions to Johan Hedén Hultgren, CEO of Swiftcourt, which recently established itself in Sri Lanka. He has a background as a professional soccer player in Trelleborgs FF but ended his career early to study law. During his studies, the idea for what would become Swiftcourt was born. The company offers digital contracts and payment solutions between private individuals and operates in seven European markets.

Why did you choose to establish Swiftcourt in Sri Lanka?

The time was right to establish a presence in Sri Lanka. We have a long-standing relationship with the Kinnevik sphere, which owns the buy-and-sell site Ikman, the Sri Lankan equivalent of the Swedish Blocket. Ikman needed a payment solution to offer its users. We were able to provide it. The fact that Ikman has about 300,000 active users meant that we could immediately reach the necessary volume in our business.

What are the characteristics of the Sri Lankan business community from your experience?

I’ve been there twice in 2024, most recently a month ago. What strikes me is the openness. This applies both to the way visitors are treated and to the Sri Lankans’ appetite for new things. There is a genuine desire for change and development. I also feel that it is much easier to establish yourself and operate in the Sri Lankan business climate compared to the Indian one.

What are the goals ahead for Swiftcourt in Sri Lanka?

We went live a month ago. The establishment is a steppingstone to the rest of South East Asia like Bangladesh, Vietnam and India. We are also looking at the possibility of building up developer expertise in Sri Lanka. Our goal is to become a full-scale payment institution. This will require further development of our technical solutions. We see that we can develop this in Sri Lanka.

3 quick questions to Frank Dandy about moving production to Sri Lanka

Since 2017, Daniel Hörnqvist has been the CEO of the Swedish fashion brand Frank Dandy. When he took over, he brought with him extensive experience from e-commerce and the outdoor market. This included responsibility for the launch of the e-commerce brand Bikester in the Nordic region in 2013. In 2015 he took on a position as board member at Frank Dandy before moving on to an executive role. One of the most important decisions in recent years for Frank Dandy has been to move manufacturing to Sri Lanka.

What is Frank Dandy’s market position?

We address a clearly defined target group between 20 and 30 years of age outside the metropolitan areas. The target group has a desire to achieve high personal goals and we provide secret superpowers to enable that. This promise permeates all our communication, not at least the visual. We are mainly present in the Nordic region and work with the same brand position in all geographical markets. A solid sustainability practice is also extremely important to us, especially from an employer brand perspective. Frank Dandy is affiliated with the initiative Better cotton and we only use recycled polyester in our swimwear. I would also like to mention our ownership program for our employees.

Why did you move manufacturing to Sri Lanka?

The decision to move manufacturing from China was made with the experience of the pandemic and in light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We needed to increase our geopolitical preparedness. I had met lot of positive mentioning about manufacturing in Sri Lanka and as well had my own personal experience from a surf trip a few years earlier. Since the move to Sri Lanka, our experience has been consistently positive. The Sri Lankan manufacturing industry is technically advanced, and we can follow the manufacturing of our products in real time from Sweden. The Sri Lankan manufacturing industry’s sustainability ambitions are high, both in terms of renewable electricity use and in the development of sustainable wastewater systems from production. The country is buzzing with growth and the high level of education is evident in everything.

What has the membership of the Sweden-Sri Lanka Business Council meant?

The membership was an incredible door opener when we were in the process of evaluating whether to move manufacturing to Sri Lanka. It helped us build relationships that I don’t think would have been possible otherwise. To spread our risks, we moved our manufacturing gradually and without the support of the SSLBC it would have been much more complicated.