The world needs to know about our green solutions
SME Chair
The world needs to know about our green solutions
Vibeke Svendsen, Managing Director of Envotherm, is pleased that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ export and investment package will focus on export industries. It is a matter of drawing attention to the good and sustainable solutions that Danish companies can offer.
By Peter G. H. Madsen
Now the focus must be on the sublime and sustainable products and solutions that Danish companies can offer the world. So says Vibeke Svendsen, Chair of DI’s SME Committee and CEO and partner in Envotherm, a leader in wastewater treatment and recycling.
– Many of the companies that are strong in green and sustainable solutions are exporters. And we’ve been hit really hard by the closed borders,” says Vibeke Svendsen, who expects the effect to be felt in earnest in the second and third quarters, when the order book will be almost empty if no action is taken now.
Vibeke Svendsen is therefore also very pleased that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now stepping up its efforts to promote Danish exports with an export and investment package worth DKK 225 million.
The export package means, among other things, that the pool for export promotion will be doubled and it will be cheaper for companies to participate in promotional activities. At the same time, a task force will be set up to identify new market opportunities.
Vibeke Svendsen CEO / Partner at Envotherm – Chair of the SME Committee.
– It’s really good if we can get more visibility for Danish companies. We need that,” says CEO Vibeke Svendsen, who is looking forward to sales work in Germany, Poland and Hungary, which are Envotherm’s biggest markets.
Read more about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ export package here
Borders must be opened
DI also welcomes the fact that the government is now taking action to support export industries.
– I am pleased that the Government has today launched new initiatives to help our exports get on track, and indicated that it is ready to help further. This is very much needed, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO of DI.
He warns, in line with Vibeke Svendsen, that exports could face some very difficult quarters, if not years.
– While Denmark is slowly opening up again, our main export markets are still closed. I am very worried about the coming quarters, when the slowdown in the world economy seriously hits Denmark. Danish exports must not only be restarted, but reinvented in the wake of the corona crisis. That’s why we need to dare to think new and long-term,” says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
In view of the serious problems for exports, DI is also annoyed that no plan has been presented for when the borders will be opened – and for which countries. This is crucial for the export opportunities of Danish companies.
DI estimates that export employment has fallen by about 80,000 out of 845,000 since the corona crisis hit Denmark. To cushion the fall in export jobs, DI has also presented 20 concrete proposals that turn downturn into upturn for exports.