“There is no time to relax – the innovation ecosystem is just about to take off” is the title of an op-ed by Ragnheiður H. Magnúsdóttir of Nordic Ignite, published in Viðskiptablaðið on August 27.
Ragnheiður begins the article by pointing out that in public discussion we increasingly hear claims that “enough has been pumped into innovation” – that sufficient time and money have been invested in supporting entrepreneurs and startups in recent years. But this view is not in line with reality. We have not reached the final destination – we are only just taking off. It is also worth emphasizing that the money invested in innovation in recent years has returned many times over to the national economy in the form of payroll taxes and foreign revenues.
Recently, she conducted an informal survey among entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, which clearly shows where improvements are most needed. The highest-scoring points were:
Early-stage (pre-seed) funding – 27%
Faster and more predictable processing of R&D cost reimbursements – 24%
Stronger connections to international markets and investors – 14%
In her article, Ragnheiður goes deeper into each of these issues, but the full piece can be read here in Icelandic.
