Innovation House China-Denmark opens

Asia House in Copenhagen has new neighbours at East Asiatic House in the form of the business incubator Innovation House China-Denmark.

Officially opened on 7 September 2016 Innovation House China-Denmark is a Danish-Chinese cross-cultural innovation environment offering office space for enterprises from both Denmark and China.

Innovation House China-Denmark is a joint investment from both Danish and Chinese investors, public as well as private. Among the Danish investors are Copenhagen Capacity, Vaeksthus Zealand, Asia House and among the Chinese investors are Hansong Technology and JITRI.

It is the first business facility of its kind designed to target the Chinese market.

It will offer companies from both countries practical solutions combined with in-depth local knowledge, according to Mads Kragh, CEO of Vaeksthus Sjaelland and Vaekstfabrikkerne, one of the shareholders of Innovation House.

Kragh said it might be difficult when a company enters a foreign market, as it will face many unexpected problems at the beginning stage.

“So it is important to create a safe harbour for Chinese companies coming to Denmark as well as Danish companies seeking opportunities in China,” he said.

“The opening of the Innovation House will establish an excellent platform for enterprises in both countries,” said Liu Biwei, Chinese Ambassador to Denmark, at the opening ceremony.

“It will deepen the Denmark-China cooperation in various aspects such as technology research and development, industrial and capital docking, and stake purchase and acquisition,” he added.

Claus Loenborg, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity that is behind the idea of setting up the incubator, said even though Denmark have attracted some investors from China, many of them had hard time of growing business and successfully gaining foothold in the local market.

“Thus we saw the need to establish a facility like this several years ago,” Loenborg said.

Innovation House China-Denmark is located a stone’s throw from the world famous statue ‘The Little Mermaid’, in a historic building that has been newly renovated to facilitate modern businesses with everything from high-speed internet to espresso machines.

The incubator offers a unique mix of practical solutions combined with in-depth local knowledge. Companies and investors will have a team of advisors who can help navigate the culture, rules and regulations of the other country. That way they can be sure to start off with a soft landing, so they can focus on building their business from day one.
The idea, writes Vækstfabrikkerne, is that by making it easier for enterprises to do business in each other’s country growth can accelerate in both China and Denmark, and the effort behind Innovation House China-Denmark is truly bilateral, with Danish partners from both the public and private sectors, as well as Chinese investors.

The incubator will have space for 36 companies, and different experts will be helping the businesses starting up in the incubation environment. The General Manager of the Innovation House China-Denmark will be Karin Vith Ankerstjerne.

Danish-Chinese Business-Forum will reside on the 2nd floor in the old headquarter of East Asiatic Company, and the Innovation House China-Denmark will reside on the 1st and ground floor.

“The fact that Danish-Chinese Business Forum now is located on the same address as the business incubator means that the new companies can get easy access to the Danish-Chinese Business Forum network. Furthermore, the clustering of different China-focused companies will also ensure new and better network opportunities for the existing members of Danish-Chinese Business Forum,” writes Hans Henrik Pontoppidan, Secretary General at Danish-Chinese Business Forum.

“We welcome Innovation House China-Denmark and look forward to improve the conditions in trading for Chinese and Danish companies.”

China and Denmark have in recent years witnessed a robust development in trade and investment despite the difficulties in global economic growth and international trade.

“The two countries have great potential of cooperation in areas such as technical innovation, industrial upgrading and service trade,” the Chinese ambassador added.

Sources: Vaekstfabrikkerne, Xinhua, Danish-Chinese Business Forum