Cross-Border Growth Forum in Finland

The event focused on helping Nordic-Baltic SMEs explore business opportunities in three rapidly developing markets:

Singapore – one of the world’s leading business and innovation hubs and a gateway to Southeast Asia;
The Philippines – one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, driven by a young population and strong domestic demand;
Saudi Arabia – the largest economy in the Middle East, investing heavily in smart cities, infrastructure, sustainability and Vision 2030 initiatives.

The forum combined market insights, company success stories, expert presentations and interactive workshops designed to help participants identify potential partnerships and explore joint market-entry opportunities.

Learning from companies already active in the markets

One of the highlights of the event was hearing practical experiences from companies that have successfully entered the target markets.

As sharing lessons learned from doing business in Saudi Arabia, speakers emphasized the importance of long-term commitment, local presence and relationship-building. Business is done by people, not companies. You need to invest in being present and building trust, was one of the key messages shared during the discussion.
Other speakers highlighted opportunities ranging from circular economy solutions in the Philippines to deep-tech innovation partnerships in Singapore, demonstrating that while the markets differ significantly, success often depends on understanding local culture, building relationships and finding the right partners.

Ambassadors and experts highlighted growing opportunities

Participants also heard insights from representatives of Singapore, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, who presented current development priorities and future investment plans.

Several common themes emerged across all three markets: smart and sustainable urban development, digital transformation, circular economy solutions, infrastructure and mobility and human-centred innovation. Market experts provided practical guidance on procurement opportunities, local business ecosystems and market-entry strategies, while also highlighting the value of partnerships and ecosystem collaboration.

Building partnerships for future export opportunities

The afternoon workshops brought participants together in market-focused groups to discuss real business opportunities and explore how companies from different countries could combine their expertise into stronger value propositions.

A key takeaway from the event was that entering distant markets often requires collaboration rather than going alone. As highlighted during the discussions, Nordic-Baltic companies can achieve greater impact by combining their strengths, networks and solutions when approaching large international projects.
The forum marked an important milestone for the ICC project by bringing companies together in person, creating new connections and laying the foundation for future cooperation, business missions and export activities.

The Intelligent Connected Cities (ICC) project is co-funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme and implemented by Business Tampere (Finland), Norrköping Science Park (Sweden), Latvian IT Cluster (Latvia) and ITL – Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (Estonia).