This week the Barents Reunion drew together dozens of young business owners to take part in two days of special forums and panels dedicated to business creation. These young entrepreneurs told the Barents Observer that while the region is rich with opportunity, officials need to focus on easing border regulations to expand beyond small local markets and promote truly global industry.
Heidi Andreassen, 23
Kirkenes, Norway
What are you doing? I haven’t established my own venture yet, but it’s one of my dreams to be able to establish my own business. I just graduated from business school in Tromsø and I’m interested in design linking and prototyping new products.
Why stay in the North? I’m from Kirkenes and I want to take a share in the development in the North. I think there are huge opportunities here because it’s so extreme. You can have great weather if you travel South but if you want great adventures go elsewhere.
How can officials create business development? Erase the economic borders, which will make it easier. Take away visas to make travel easier: To be global is very important.
Mattias Johansson, 29
Kalix, Sweden
What are you doing? I run a one man business consulting on sustainable development and environmental issues. I moved because of a chain of events last year after living in other places: I got a mission with my little business to do a data gathering survey and my father got sick and I moved back home.
What is it like to run a business in the North? I have a hard time related to the Barents region as a whole. The people are maybe a bit scared to commit to things. There’s more than one well known path in life – I have to survey and search for my missions, it is a little bit ill-defined this type of work.
What can be done to make entrepreneurship easier? It’s a problem of mindset among people. The people in charge should help this climate of being willing to commit to their business. It’s important that people do what their invested in.
Nico Abong, 30
Tornio, Finland
What are you doing? I run a marketing consulting business, StraTarget Consulting. I was born in Republic of Cameroon, but I came here as a student and stayed.
What is it like to run a business in the North? It’s been quite challenging, that’s why I’m still in the starter level in the Barents. I think there are more opportunities here. This place has a little bit more untapped potential; it’s not so oversaturated like in the South.
What can be done to make entrepreneurship easier? Create more support instruments, not just for creating business, but also how to make those businesses international. Here the market is quite small, especially from outside companies. We need to think about how to create businesses that are competitive globally.
Denis Kreminsky, 36
Murmansk, Russia
What are you doing? I was an Information Technology guy and then I started making my own business and a couple times it was a failure. Then I succeeded. Murmansk is my hometown, I also own a company in Norway.
What’s it like working in the region: It’s hard to get funding, and there’s a certain amount of xenophobia that I’ve faced because I’m Russian. Nothing huge, but it’s there. I can speak for all of Russia because the climate is just poor. Being honest is one thing I miss from politicians.
What can be done to make entrepreneurship easier? Support. There’s almost no venture capital in Russia and what I can get is inadequate. I can get a subsidy from the government, but you can only use it to buy equipment, which, if you work in IT is useless because you don’t need equipment you need the brains. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but with Russia I am very pessimistic. The climate in Russia is so harsh but it creates people that are destined to be entrepreneurs because they never give up. Every harsh situation – war, bad climates, poverty – breeds entrepreneurs.
All photos: Christi Turner
