Business Traveller (Middle East)
THE HYGGE LIFE
The progressive Danish capital combines business and leisure
“If you want to attract young talent, you need to offer a cool place to live, with the right framework for developing a business”
Ahigh-heeled cyclist in a crisp suit passes me on the street, making a hands-free call as she pedals. It’s just after 3pm on a Friday, and the concrete promenades lining Copenhagen’s three rectangular lakes – commonly mistaken for a single river – are baking in the unexpected spring heat. At the nearby harbour, a powerboat carrying businesspeople guns down the satiny stretch of water towards Sweden. On days like this, “bridging” is also a thing in the Danish capital, where a denim-clad crowd perches along the walls of Dronning Louises Bridge, sipping cans of pilsner and socialising until sunrise.
You can’t possibly have made it through 2016 without hearing the word hygge ( pronounced ‘hue-gah’). Just in case, it’s the Danish ideal of appreciating life’s simple pleasures: family, friends, nature, soothing environments, a feeling of “cosy togetherness”. As a nation, Danes make time in their daily lives to appreciate the small but important things. It seems the rest of the world needs a manual to implement this – The Little Book of Hygge: the Danish
Way to Live Well was a bestselling book in 2016. And, consistently stealing the top spots of “most liveable” and “happiest” in city rankings, Copenhagen is certainly getting something right.
The enviable Danish lifestyle could be a trump card when it comes to attracting overseas talent. “I don’t think this factor should be underestimated,” says Claus Lonborg, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity, which supports foreign companies, investors and talent seeking opportunities in Greater Copenhagen.
“If you want to attract young talent, you need to offer a cool place to live, with the right framework for developing a business. Today, young people want to know: ‘ What’s it like living in Copenhagen? Where can I hang out?’ They spend [more] time communicating about these things [than] about the actual job and company they’d be working for.”
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
According to the “2017 Better Life” report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), Danish people have one of the best work-life balances in the world, with only 2 per cent regularly working long hours (more than 50 a week), compared to the international average of 13 per cent. At the same time, in a study from Expert Market that divided the GDP of the world’s biggest economies by the number of hours worked per person, Denmark was ranked the fourth most productive country in the world (after Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden, respectively). What’s more, Denmark is consistently voted the best place in the world to be a woman – thanks to its flexible parental leave policy, its earnings-based childcare system and its active promotion of gender equality. To top it all off, national healthcare and education are virtually free.
A SCANDI STATE OF MIND
It’s easy to paint Denmark as a utopia when, of course, not everything is rosy. Its harsh anti-immigration policies have been widely criticised by the international community, and its normally buoyant economy had taken a slight dip at the time of writing.
But overall, Denmark’s progressive nature has created a society outsiders look upon with admiration, and a fitting business environment for blue-sky thinking. A key aspect of this is Denmark’s digitised lifestyle, which cultivates great conditions for launching new products. “The Danish government committed to the digital agenda early on,” says Lonborg. “Everything from renewing your passport to getting a work permit has been completely digitalised.
“As a citizen, if every time you interact with your government, it’s digital, you automatically become much more tech savvy, which develops quite an interesting test market for new technologies. I think that savviness is what’s driving and inspiring people here.”
Skype (a joint venture with Stockholm-based entrepreneurs), Unity (the creators of the leading global platform for building computer games) and Just Eat are some of the success stories from Copenhagen’s thriving tech sector, each of them unicorns (companies valued at more than US$1 billion). Major IT corporations have a presence in the city, including IBM, Microsoft and Google, which has its Nordic headquarters here. What’s more, the University of California established its first out-of-state university campus in the Danish capital.
How do Copenhagen’s start-up conditions compare to the other Scandinavian capitals? “There are probably more similarities between the Nordic countries than there are differences,” says Lonborg. “We have so much shared history and culture. Having said that, there are a few ways in which Copenhagen stands out. We have the best-connected airport in the Nordic region. In a regional context, we’re not that expensive. And it’s very easy to work with the authorities.”
He adds: “We also have what we like to call ‘flexi-curity’ in Denmark. We are one of the countries in the world where it’s easiest to hire and fire people. Investors know that you may not be successful in the first rounds of funding, so you have to be able to scale up or down if needed. It’s much more difficult in Sweden, France and elsewhere in Europe, which costs companies money and time.”
The Danish government has also taken steps to place entrepreneurial acumen at the heart of its policies, some of which may seem a little out there. For example, in May, tech millionaire Tommy Ahlers – also star of TV show
Shark Tank, the Danish equivalent of Dragon’s Den – was appointed as minister of education and research. Having made his millions by selling his start-ups to Vodaphone and Citrix Systems Inc, Ahlers has reportedly criticised Denmark’s current education system for not being elitist enough, saying that an “academic proletariat” exists due to the sheer number of university graduates. Instead, he believes the system should ensure that fewer students make the grade, only those who prove they can handle the pressures of starting a business – it will be interesting to see how his vision pans out.
In addition, in a landmark move, the Danish government has announced plans to integrate the sharing economy into its tax and labour laws. Although Uber was booted out of Denmark last year for failing to comply with the existing regulations, Airbnb recently agreed to report all homeowners’ incomes from the home rental company to the Danish authorities, in order to crack down on tax evasion (a massive no-no in a country where the average citizen hands over 45 per cent of his/her income to the public purse).
In addition, Airbnb will limit the number of days that Danish homeowners may list a property to 70 days per year. In return, the government will give people letting their homes via Airbnb a tax-free allowance of up to 40,000 kroner (US$6,092) a year. This happy medium could set a precedent for countries all over the world, which are also witnessing that sharing economy enterprises are here to stay, but seeking a solution to reign them in and make them behave more like traditional businesses.
GRAND DESIGNS
The international fervour for all things Scandi – fuelled in no small part by the popularity of TV series such as The Killing and The Bridge – has steadily bolstered tourism to Copenhagen, and served the city’s hotel industry well. “We’ve seen this tremendous increase in tourism – we hotels have had a pretty good time over the past five years,” says Peter Borup, director of Copenhagen Strand hotel. “All Copenhagen hotels have undergone some kind of renovation during this time. And, now the crisis has passed, international investors are looking at Copenhagen. Projects are under way that will increase the number of rooms in the city by about 40 per cent over the next three or four years.”
Recent visitors to the Danish capital will have noticed the amount of drilling taking place in the city’s pretty public squares, and the kilometres of hoarding painted with edgy artwork in an attempt to compensate. The development of a new metro line, Cityringen, has been a long time coming. When it is complete in 2019, the circular route will connect the districts of Vesterbro, Norrebro and Osterbro. Afterwards, this line will also be extended by lines branching off to the north (Nordhavn extension, coming 2020) and to the south (Sydhavn, coming 2023).
In a rather nifty move, the soil dug up during the construction of the new metro line has been converted into reclaimed land – forming the new floating business and residential district where the Nordhavn line will terminate. Situated in the city’s North Harbour, Nordhavn is loaded with swanky apartments and industrial charm.
Speaking of floating, last March Copenhagen’s harbour gained a rather intriguing addition – a wooden island sprouting a single linden tree. Designed by Australian architect Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg from Danish design studio Fokstrot, the 20 sqm structure is not only a resting place for kayakers and open-water swimmers, but it doubles up as event space, and was used to host lectures about the future of harbour cities. It’s intended to be the first of a “parkipelago” – a network of nine islands that will add interest and activity around Copenhagen’s waterways. The idea is for them to be connected together for festivals or events, and each one will house something different: a sail-in café, a diving board, a mussel farm, a stage and a sauna are some of the current intentions.
“The harbour has been cleaned up so that it’s fully approved for swimming, and we’ve established outdoor facilities where you can take a dip after work,” says Lonborg. “How many cities around the world are there where you can you live downtown and swim in the harbour?”
At dusk, I stroll up to Islands Brygge, the city’s original “harbour bath”. The winding walkway connects to the wide promenade, creating sectioned-off areas of crystalclear water. A few swimming-capped heads bob in and out of the water, while the walkways are teeming with revellers tucking into barbecued food truck snacks and chattering over the celebratory sounds of a live brass brand, living the hygge life. Seeing the city at its best, it’s undeniable that Copenhagen has the right DNA for being the world’s happiest city.
The international fervour for all things Scandi has steadily bolstered tourism and served Copenhagen’s hotel industry well