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The TechStep Sweden programme, implemented by the IT Ukraine Association in cooperation with Open Trade Gate Sweden and the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office (Ukraine), has been supporting Ukrainian tech companies in entering the Swedish market for over ten months.
From November 9-14, eight programme participants explored Sweden’s western coast, and the week included participation in Elmia Subcontractor, business visits, and networking sessions in Gothenburg and Jönköping.
As part of the programme, strategic meetings and business visits were held at:
The first days of the programme focused on immersion in the Gothenburg innovation region. The meeting at Business Region Gothenburg helped participants better understand how the city fosters collaboration between business, academia, and government, while the visit to MobilityXlab in Lindholmen Science Park opened access to one of the strongest hubs in Europe, where mobility technologies evolve from concepts to real-world implementations. This is an environment where partnerships form naturally, and high technological demands motivate rather than intimidate.
Two days at Elmia Subcontractor – one of the largest and most influential industrial exhibitions in Northern Europe, which annually gathers the global community of manufacturers, engineering companies, suppliers, and technology partners – offered Ukrainian companies an opportunity to test their positioning, gather feedback from industrial and manufacturing companies, and conduct dozens of targeted meetings.
One of the highlights of the week was a meeting with Sweden’s Minister for International Development and Foreign Trade, Benjamin Duso, at Elmia Subcontractor. The government official’s presence at the OTGS stand underscored the genuine interest in supporting Ukrainian tech integration into local business ecosystems.
A crucial part of the trip was the B2B event at the Western Sweden Chamber of Commerce, where Ukrainian companies met with dozens of local businesses.
Exploring Gothenburg and Jönköping demonstrated how naturally our ecosystems combine: Sweden’s long-term vision, sustainability, and business culture based on trust, combined with Ukraine’s technological speed, resilience, and creativity. After several intense days of meetings, it became clear: this region doesn’t just talk about innovation — it truly lives it. The interest in Ukrainian technologies and what we create at Geniusee is very real, and conversations quickly shifted from ‘getting acquainted’ to concrete ideas and cooperation formats. I am grateful for the openness, honest dialogue, and willingness to look beyond short-term gains. We clearly see a solid foundation for long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships between Swedish companies and the Ukrainian IT ecosystem
— commented Taras Tymoshchuk, CEO & Founder of Geniusee and member of the IT Ukraine Association Council.
The visit to Recorded Future gave an insight into the practical aspects of working with world-class cyber intelligence and how real-time threat intelligence tools operate. The visit to CampX by Volvo Group demonstrated how a global industrial giant builds an open innovation model and engages partners at all stages of product development. Meanwhile, the encounter with Founders Loft — an incubator included in Vinnova’s Competence Incubators list — provided valuable insights on scaling, working with startups, and entering international markets.
For Acropolium, as a high-engineering software company, the trip to Gothenburg and Jönköping is a natural step toward a market where innovation and complex technological solutions are the norm, not the exception. We work with industries that demand high reliability, security and quality – and this is exactly how we see Swedish business. Taking part in the program allows us not just to ‘enter’ the market, but to understand it from the inside: talking to companies, seeing their real challenges and tailoring our expertise to the local context. Mentorship from Swedish experts helps us quickly align our engineering standards with market expectations, while in-person meetings build trust much better than any online communication. For us, it’s an investment in long-term partnerships where we can act not only as a vendor, but as a technological co-creator of change
— Maryna Shuliak, CBDO, Acropolium.
The trip provided an inside look at the market, helped understand how the business environment outside Stockholm operates, how trust is formed, and what the most pressing technological needs are. Most importantly, it showed that Ukrainian IT companies can seamlessly integrate into Sweden’s high-tech ecosystem and become not just contractors, but partners.
Sweden is a market where trust, continuity, and personal presence matter more than anything. For a Ukrainian company, entering this environment alone can be extremely costly, time-consuming, and often simply out of reach. TechStep Sweden opened doors we would not have reached on our own. During the first year, we invested heavily in recognition and due diligence — and now we are beginning to see the first results of that effort. We are sincerely grateful to the organisers for the opportunity, for the connections, and for believing in us. They achieved something truly remarkable: opened the doors of the Swedish ecosystem to a Ukrainian company. The next steps are now on us
— Fedir Kompaniiets, CEO & Co-Founder of Gart Solutions.
The TechStep Sweden programme is organised by Open Trade Gate Sweden* and the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office (Ukraine)”, a national project “Diia.Business”, in cooperation with the IT Ukraine Association.
*Open Trade Gate Sweden (OTGS) is part of the Swedish National Board of Trade (National Board of Trade Sweden). OTGS facilitates imports from developing countries to Sweden and the EU. OTGS collaborates with organisations that support businesses in these countries, offering training, coaching, familiarisation visits, and participation in exhibitions and other business events. Click here for more information.
