Scandinavian tech giants like Spotify and Klarna "have fostered a new generation of entrepreneurs”

Scandinavia is home to some of the most celebrated tech companies in recent years: think Skype, Spotify, and Klarna. Cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen are also home to a new generation of startups creating waves across Europe.

In this podcast, we talk to Henrik Rosvall, chief operating officer of Stockholm-based climate fintech Doconomy, and Emil Stigsgaard Fuglsang, co-founder and chief operating officer at Matter, the Copenhagen-based sustainability insights fintech.

We discuss the fintech scene in Scandinavia and why it is the envy of other nations across Europe; as the factors that make cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen attractive fintech ecosystems; how receptive Scandinavians are to startups and fintechs; and whether the desire to tackle the climate crisis is particularly acute in the Nordics.

Commenting on Scandinavian success stories like Klarna and Spotify, Rosvall said:

“The big giants have fostered a new generation of entrepreneurs.”

Fuglsang says that those fintechs that are successful in the region are usually successful globally too.

Those that make it in the region “typically make it because we go global quite quick and that is because (Scandinavia) has fairly small markets,” he says

The pair also discuss that the relatively high standards of living in the Nordics mean there is generally a higher motivation to care about climate change and try and tackle it.