“Learning something new every day is really satisfying”

Marcus Kuusinen has been working at Business Sweden’s Singapore office for almost three years. There, he and his team help Swedish companies looking to invest and expand in a stable and dynamic economy by providing strategic advice, practical support, market insights and a broad business network.

Tell us about your job!

“I work as a project manager at Business Sweden in Singapore where I help Swedish companies keen to enter the Southeast Asian market. My focus is market analysis and finding the right match in terms of partners, customers and investors, plus running regional projects, mainly in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. I’m currently working on a project spanning all five of the biggest markets in Southeast Asia with consultants from my team on the ground gathering information to help companies make the best possible decisions before setting up here.”

What was it that attracted you to Business Sweden?

“It’s been a dream job ever since I was writing my thesis project on helping Swedish companies to set up in India. Business Sweden came across my radar at the time and I thought they were doing something really interesting. Working in this region was a long-term goal – Singapore is the hub of Southeast Asia and there’s such a lot going on here. Helping everything from small start-ups to the biggest companies like Volvo and Atlas Copco to grow in a new market is really exciting – and these are amazing countries to travel to when I’m not in work mode. Bali is just a two and a half hour flight away!”

How would you describe the culture?

“Singapore is hugely international and that rubs off on the corporate culture. It’s an incredibly multicultural environment where you come into contact with people from all around the world, whose different backgrounds and experiences give them invaluable knowledge. Learning something new every day and getting to broaden your perspective in meetings with other cultures is really satisfying – and one of the things that makes the job so unique.”

What are you proudest about in your work?

“Helping the smallest companies to make a big difference, for example by finding the first key customers or bringing in capital. Small companies don’t often have enough power or resources to pursue the work themselves on the spot so when we give them a helping hand, you really see what a difference it makes. Without us, that healthcare innovation, industrial product, or exciting AI solution might never have had the chance to show its potential outside Sweden. Knowing that makes the job really meaningful!”