Korean-born Danish entrepreneur Line Young Peteri is so enamoured with Malta she is keen to tap business opportunities.
Married to a Swedish igaming executive with whom she moved to Malta from London four years ago, she says she first wanted to stay for two years, then five. Now, she hopes to stay for at least 10 years.
Admittedly, she has much to do here. She describes herself as a social relations and online marketing expert and has previously been involved in online projects for MTV and igaming.
A fashion designer by training – she studied at Denmark’s Teko Centre – she explains she never applied her education, choosing instead to become a self-taught geek, specialising in online marketing strategies.
The mother of a two-year-old son and currently expecting her second child, Ms Young Peteri, 35, owns a diverse holding company.
Young Peteri Holding Ltd encompasses a range of activities, among them start-up investment projects. It has just sold EKYC.com, a verification software tool for igaming companies established with Maltese partners.
In early March, under another collaboration, Ms Peteri will open an ‘office hotel’ on The Strand – a property offering office rental for new entrepreneurs and small businesses at fixed rates. Offices will be booked in the same way as hotel rooms.
“We have found an ideal property and we are currently fitting it out with high-quality services and furniture,” she explained. “We are determined to focus our attention on the soft side of the business, including identifying suppliers of healthy food.”
In a third project with local partners, Ms Peteri has tapped her fashion design training to create O Label, an online community for young upcoming designers who need marketing support as they showcase their collections overseas.
Also under the holding company’s umbrella is a consultancy for non-Maltese clients specialising in online marketing and branding strategies, managed with Maltese professionals.
Her dynamism coupled with her love for her adopted home compels her to get involved in the community. Highly active in engaging Malta’s ever-growing Danish community, she also works to support Danish parents as they settle here.
She is keen to involve executives’ partners in social circles and helps them to broaden their view of Malta, so that they become as fascinated with the cultural heritage and the vibrant lifestyle as she. Meanwhile, Ms Young Peteri has directed her efforts to help bridge the gap and support foreign-owned companies to identify ways to become more involved in Maltese society.
She has even created a Facebook page for Maltese women entrepreneurs.
Next year, she hopes to bring the Lego Olympics to Malta in September. Lego education, she explains, is very popular in many parts of Europe but not in southern Europe, despite building blocks being “one of the best ways to learn the principles of IT”.
“I am a very happy person,” she says when people remark about her infectious positive attitude. “What you see is what you get. I like to get involved – Malta is such a great place to live. The authorities should consider doing more to tell people what a wonderful lifestyle awaits expat families here.”