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SWEDEN - SVCA launches private equity 'internships' for politicians

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In a move to counteract the bad press targeted at the private equity market recently, the Swedish Venture Capital Association (SVCA) has offered politicians an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the industry. “It was a fantastic opportunity to give leading politicians first-hand practical insight into our industry,” said Jan Segerfeldt at SVCA. “I see this as a good response to the intense media attention directed at the Swedish private equity-market.” By offering this “work placement”, SVCA strongly indicated that the industry is opening up and trying to correct the information imbalance, currently the subject of much debate.

The SVCA offered a four-day long work placement for Swedish politician Anna Lilliehöök which included visits to portfolio companies as well as meetings with domestic venture capital and buyout houses. “The politicians want to build more knowledge about how the industry develops companies, thereby contributing to a better society. In Sweden private equity-owned companies now represent 11% of GDP, so politicians recognise that the industry is important to understand. There is no better way to this learning process than to do as the Japanese industry has done for decades, that is “Genchi genbutsu”, which means go out and see with your own eyes in order to really understand! Our member companies here in Sweden were very cooperative when I laid out the program for Anna Lilliehöök. There are traditional big walls between the political world and the business world and this creates of course a lot of unproductive misunderstandings. During the four-day “study-tour” a lot of mutual understanding was built up.”

This initiative sends out a signal to the other associations to open up and actively seek to spread information about private equity to politicians and the media.

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