New leads and opportunities for entry into the Canadian market. For IT Bolaget Per & Per, participating in a delegation trip to Canada was the start of what could be an exciting development.

November 19-21, Innovation Days in Montreal, Canada, was organized by, among others, ABB, SAAB, and Ericsson. Vinnova and Ignite Sweden hand-picked 15 Swedish startups to participate in matchmaking to stimulate new business between startups and large companies. The focus was on AI, Smart Manufacturing, Mining, Forestry, and Port & Sea Security. The program included pitches, B2B Matchmaking with both Canadians SME and large Canadian corporations and B2B Matchmaking meetings with Swedish corporates local representative

Per Gustås from IT Bolaget Per & Per was one of the participants.

-It would have been almost unthinkable for me to get so many relevant contacts in such a short time and with little effort, says Per.

IT Bolaget Per & Per is a company focused on IT solutions for forestry operations. With their tools, the work in the forest becomes more efficient, both for forest companies and contractors.

– I have several leads that I will continue to work with after this trip. It is early in the process, so you can’t tell if this is leading to something big or not. But this is a phase all business goes through. We were in this phase with our first Norwegian customer five years ago, and now Norway accounts for 50% of our sales.

Per Gustås, IT-bolaget Per & Per enjoying Canada’s beautiful landscape.

Ignite is a program led by some of the leading incubators in Sweden: THINGS, Sting, LEAD, MINC, and UMINOVA in collaboration with the industry organization for Sweden’s Science parks & incubators, SISP. Ignite Sweden is co-funded by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and the The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

Ignite Sweden is a national initiative. It’s always free for startups. The overall aim of the program is to help startups find their first large customers.