"After his first winter seeing the "rather sad-looking" imported produce on offer in the Swedish north, he began thinking about using the hydroponic expertise he developed in 2022 at Suderbyn (the eco-village on Gotland which ran the Baltic Sea closed loop farming project) as its Applied Research Coordinator, to show that fresh greens could be grown locally in a circular system."
"In the autumn of 2024, he was granted a nine-month residency permit in Sweden for people looking to start a new business and soon started Hydro Space Sweden and Plokka, with the aim of using hydroponics technology to provide Skelleftea with a reliable, local, and sustainable food source."
"Before his residency permit expired in August of 2025, he applied for a business visa on the basis of his new company, which was by then up and running, with a loan secured from Almi, microgreens in production, and key hydroponics equipment on its way."
Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya, an Indian entrepreneur, established a circular-system hydroponics business in Skelleftea, Sweden, after completing his MSc in Sustainable Management and gaining expertise at an eco-village farming project. He launched Hydro Space Sweden and Plokka in autumn 2024 under a nine-month startup residency permit, securing microgreens production and equipment financing from Almi. The company was already supplying fresh produce to a major local grocery store. However, when Balasubramanya applied for a business visa before his residency permit expired in August 2025, the Swedish Migration Agency denied his application in December, claiming insufficient expertise and language proficiency despite his demonstrated knowledge and established customer base.
#hydroponics-startup #swedish-immigration-policy #sustainable-agriculture #business-visa-denial #local-food-production
Read at www.thelocal.se
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