Kemi hosts 9th Arctic Business Forum in April

The Lapland Chamber of Commerce will organise the 9th Arctic Business Forum (ABF) on April 11-12 in Kemi to take stock of the latest global and local developments in Arctic business.

This is the second time that the city of Kemi, which, together with the city of Tornio, is one of the biggest industrial centres in the Arctic region and is hosting the two-day forum for the second time, said the organisers.

The forum’s theme this year is ‘Investments, Competitiveness and Start-ups’ in the Arctic region.

“There are two outstanding topics that have not been discussed much in this kind of Arctic forums. The first one is the concrete transport options in the Arctic. I’m referring to the Arctic Railway and its meaning for the transport system as a whole and for the European Arctic. The second significant matter is that everybody is interested in developing one’s business in the Arctic region. There is lot of discussions on this issue, but only a few are linking it to the start-up entrepreneurship. Why couldn’t there be start-ups in the Arctic region as well? We are keen to further develop the Arctic Business Forum constantly,” said Lapland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Timo Rautajoki to the Daily Finland.

The chamber’s Deputy Director Viivi Lakkapää said they are expecting a large number of international guests and speakers, i.e., from Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and China.

“We are looking forward to having a broad discussion on cross-border co-operation,” she added.

ABF is an international event that gathers companies and business-related stakeholders from Finland and abroad. Special attention is paid to strengthening business-to-business cooperation by organising B2B meeting points and business pitch sessions.

The forum will evaluate the development of international Arctic business cooperation in the changing political situation. The Arctic Business Forum Yearbook 2018 will also be launched during the event.

The forum will review, among other things, the latest updates on cross-border cooperation in the European Arctic, the Arctic business and investment potential in 2018, the Arctic Railway debate, Arctic start-ups, competitiveness in the Arctic business, and happenings in the European Arctic.