“It was super helpful for us to get neutral advice from someone outside”
It was the mentorship possibility that made the Moldovan company Atomate Software chose to participate in an Open Trade Gate Sweden project. In addition to extensive information about the Swedish market and its culture, the selected companies in the project also received specific tips on how to succeed in exporting to Sweden.
Valentina Botnazu Sisman from Atomate Software describes the education and support the company has received through Open Trade Gate Sweden.
“To get someone from the outside to tell us if we were a fit at all for the Swedish market and what specifically we must do to be part of it – that was super helpful for us and really what we needed most at this moment,” remarks Valentina Botnazu Sisman from Atomate Software.
Atomate Software was founded in Chișinau in 2011 and specialises in developing web software and mobile apps. During the project, the company both participated in group sessions with other Moldovan companies plus had one-to-one coaching sessions with a collaboration partner to Open Trade Gate Sweden, OTGS.
“It is the first time we have somebody giving us their honest opinion about our communication and marketing materials. After that, we could refine our message and this helped us to express a lot more clearly what a company gets in a partnership with us. We also received coaching in building an export plan and we are now working on getting our export plan implemented as soon as possible.”
Finding similarities to work together
Atomate Software first heard about OTGS through Startup Moldova and then applied to be part of the project. Their goal is to export their services to the European market, and Valentina Botnazu Sisman says that they are specifically interested in the Nordic countries.
“We feel that they are quite close to us when it comes to honesty and working hard.”
Fintech and health tech in focus
In the Open Trade Gate project, 12 Moldovan Tech companies are participating. The overall goal is to support the companies on their road to be exporting to Sweden, with assisting them to obtain all the necessary information. The project involves e-learning sessions and coaching, plus in the autumn of 2023 representatives of the Moldovan companies also visited Sweden to learn more and to meet Swedish tech companies. Their next step is to be one of the exhibiters at the Stockholm Tech Show 2024.
“For us, Sweden, it’s not only about nice new innovation technologies, it’s also about innovation and how to improve our lives through technology.”
Valentina says they are specifically interested in the fintech logistics and health tech.
“It was really useful to visit the university in Stockholm where we got to see new prototypes in the health sector. We also got some insights into the security and logistics sector. We would really love to get into new partnerships here and to participate in these kinds of projects; it would be really interesting for us and for our country.”