What is GGBa and what are the organisation’s principal goals? GGBa, named for the Greater Geneva Berne area, is an economic development agency which represents Western Switzerland and has been operational since 2010. GGBa is financed by the cantons of Berne, Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchatel, Geneva and Valais, it mainly aims to advise and support foreign businesses interested in opening a branch in the GGBA region.
What were the reasons behind creating GGBa? Weren’t the existing agencies on a cantonal level sufficient? GGBa was founded on the principle that it is more logical to join forces in promoting our region abroad. To put it briefly, GGBa is especially proactive early on in the process of prospecting foreign businesses in their home countries. At a later stage of the processes, we team up with the economic development offices of the various cantons. Furthermore, it’s important to note that the cantons we represent are – for the most part – complementary.
What does GGBa actually do? The association has representatives in the 8 countries where we are concentrating our efforts. These are the United States, Germany, France, Italy and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations. The representatives themselves are mostly former businessmen who know Switzerland well – they have a good perspective of a business’ needs in their respective markets and are capable of working on prospecting for businesses that might be interested in coming to our region. Naturally, GGBa is also available to answer foreign businessmen’s numerous questions about establishing a branch office in Western Switzerland. We likewise put these businesses in contact with a series of local players as well as the cantonal authorities.
What makes Switzerland – and particularly Western Switzerland – attractive to foreign businesses? Aside from its traditional Swiss work ethics and attentive, accessible administration, Switzerland offers numerous other advantages. According to all the World Economic Forum’s latest reports, Switzerland has been consistently considered to be the world’s most competitive country. This is partially due to the Swiss authorities’ policy of encouraging innovation, which differs significantly from that practised in other nations. That’s because the authorities don’t finance projects based on politically designated priority sectors but rather encourage promising emerging projects defined by the industry concerned in cooperation with research institutes or universities. This cooperation can result in phased co-financing. However, the final intellectual property rights belong to the company that instigates the project. One of Switzerland’s principle advantages actually concerns intellectual property rights, a legal notion that is particularly important given our global economy. Western Switzerland is home to over 400 EU patent attorneys who can intervene in every sector – from construction and life sciences to information technologies. Furthermore, since January, 2012 Switzerland is the first nation in the world to establish tribunals specialised in intellectual property litigation. This will considerably speed up procedures in an area where time is a major factor. What’s more, Switzerland benefits from a flexible work code which allows for easy employment and termination contracts. Although salaries on average may be higher than elsewhere, an employer’s global staffing costs are similar to what they would be in neighbouring countries given Switzerland’s lower social security costs and tax rates. This while taking into account the fact that strikes and absenteeism are rare here. One can be fairly certain that tax rates in Switzerland will remain stable – or even go down – in stark contrast to the trend demonstrated by European countries faced with the current public debt and budgetary deficit crisis.
What do Russian businessmen who choose to open a branch office in Western Switzerland appreciate most about the area? The feedback that we have gotten from Russian businessmen who have chosen the GGBa region has indicated that they are very satisfied and well integrated. Along with our other targeted international partners, Russians particularly appreciate the political and legal stability, working in partnership with universities, the region’s qualified workforce and the possibility to use the “Made in Switzerland” label on their products manufactured in Switzerland. This label allows them to distribute their products in international markets at very favourable conditions. The presence and continued development of Western Switzerland’s business clusters of world-wide importance – such as living sciences and micro/nano technologies – are likewise an important motivating factor for Russian businesses that are often active in these sectors. The Greater Geneva Berne Area has been home to a large Russian ex-pat community since the 19th Century, which is further proof of Russian émigrés successful long-term integration.
Are you planning any events linked to economic promotion of the GGBa region in Russia at any point in the near future? We’re planning 2 events in Russia in 2012 which aim to inform Russian businessmen about subjects such as Switzerland’s intellectual property rights, our region’s industry/university partnership, the “Made in Switzerland” label, obtaining a CE trademark, etc. Actually, Russia has excellent scientists and the possibilities of synergistic ties between Western Switzerland and Russian businesses are very promising.
