A year of outstanding action and heroism
The year 2022 began the same way as 2021 ended. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, but despite it all, our operations were in full swing. Growth is back up after a slump during the pandemic.
On 24 February 2022, Russia started a terrible war of aggression against Ukraine, and we once again found ourselves in an uncertain world. Thanks to careful preparation and great commitment and heroism, our Ukrainian business, Sigma Software, managed to execute its evacuation plan with exceptional success, evacuating 2,800 people, employees and their families, especially from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. Our employees in Ukraine are true heroes.
A major focus for Sigma Software was to get their employees back to working full-time as soon as possible. The ability to continue to deliver to our customers was (and is) important for both the business and its employees. For our employees, the ability to continue working is important because it allows them to build a personal financial buffer whilst giving them something meaningful to do in the midst of all the misery.
Sigma Software has demonstrated an impressive drive and great capacity to adapt and create as safe an existence as possible for its employees and their families.
Employees from our other operational locations have also made great efforts to help Ukraine. Within the group, various fundraising initiatives have been launched that have raised millions of Swedish kronor for the Ukrainian cause. Together with Ebba Lindsö and Valery Krasovsky, Dan Olofsson also took the initiative to develop “Swedes for Ukraine”, a platform that helps refugees from Ukraine find accommodation in Sweden by putting them in direct contact with Swedes who have available rooms or homes.
At the same time, operations within the Danir Group have continued to develop in a good way. During the year, we have enjoyed growth of 30% and have established offices in several new countries, among them Colombia, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. We have maintained our strong focus on digitalisation and technology. The group now has 11,600 employees working at around 130 subsidiaries in 25 countries.
As a result of strategy work carried out by Poolia in 2022, the group has been renamed PION Group.
The group has also made a number of acquisitions. Sigma Software acquired Eventyr, which has expertise in the metaverse and Sigma Civil strengthened its presence in Stockholm through the acquisition of Scandinavian Tunneling. Nexer has continued its expansion through the acquisitions of Telescope Services AB and US-based Rangeline Solutions. And PION acquired Workspace Recruit, which provides a tool that makes it easier for customers to recruit employees.
During the year, we have also seen our societal engagements grow. Star for Life has expanded its operations to Ukraine and East Jerusalem, where it helps children and young people improve their self-esteem while instilling them with IT knowledge.
We were also a proud main sponsor when Malmö hosted the Special Olympics Games, Sweden’s selection competition for the 2023 World Games in Berlin. 1,000 participants in 12 sports were on site and competed in their sports over the course of three memorable days in Malmö.
You can learn about this and much more in Danir’s 2022 Yearbook.
Happy reading!
Johan Glennmo
Andreas Olofsson Tarantino
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