Ecotype: Accelerator

SGS

SGS is a Swiss inspection company with worldwide operations. They seek startups to collaborate with and/or buy, which could help their inspection operations.

They’re especially interested in AI, machine vision, target recognition, IoT (e.g. humidity measurements), 3D mapping of bulk cargo, 3D modeling of buildings and construction sites, safety regulation management software – in general anything that helps make inspections faster, with lower manpower costs, and with more evidence of what was inspected.

Health Founders

Health Founders is the first health tech accelerator in the Baltics, based in Estonia. Their digital-first acceleration program for early-stage startups focuses on helping health tech companies to grow sales, work with the regulatory framework, and everything health-specific about building a business. They seek non-invasive health tech companies with at least a demo version of their solution.

They run 1-2 batches per year, each ending with a demo day for investors and potential clients.

Startup Norway

Startup Norway is a private organization, offering multiple acceleration programs for Nordic startups and investment opportunities for angel investors. In addition to pitching events, they offer a training program for angel investors. Their startup programs include generalistic fundraising for early-stage startups, as well as ones focused on fields like travel, fashion, sustainability.

They prefer startups have at least a working prototype. They also have some programs for Norwegian startups where an idea can also suffice.

Fiskars Group

Fiskars is looking for globally scalable innovations to cooperate with and/or invest into, that have synergies with their business of durable consumer goods. They’re especially interested in new services and business models in the space related to professional handheld home and garden tools, kitchenware and interior decoration.

Fiskars is launching their innovation hub website, Bruk, in the end of September 2021.

YIT

YIT is seeking startups related to real estate and construction sectors that have synergies with their core offerings. They are interested in business cooperation, co-development and investing.

Their recent investments include Nuuka Solutions by Loudspring and Freesi by Iisy, which help monitor and optimize energy usage, indoor air quality etc.

The sweet spot for cooperating with YIT is when companies have approx. 1M€ or more in turnover.

Startups can contact directly anton.pelo [ät] yit.fi.

.Cocoon

.Cocoon is a startup founder mentoring program by experienced angel investors who pre-screen founders for coachability. For the best business cases they invest up to €100k during the program.

The managing team includes the key people from Contriber Ventures, who invested into 35 startups after founding the second Estonian unicorn, Playtech, and a manager from Buildit Accelerator with experience from 60+ investments.

Valkea Growth Club

Valkea Growth Club is the startup acceleration, investment and support program of Fortum, a large Finnish energy corporation. The main goal that unites everyone associated with the Valkea Growth Club is to create a cleaner future.

Valkea develops Fortum’s experimented concepts to standalone companies and looks for external early stage startups to assist them in their journey. They offer expertise, development opportunities, funding and premises at Maria 01 in Helsinki.

Their mandate in brief:

  • Thematically focused around energy systems, sustainability & resource efficiency, and empowered consumers
  • High quality, usually digital solutions with >50M€ revenue scale potential
  • Series Seed-A, low 100k€s to low M€s
  • Startups with Nordic activities

They are interested especially in software solutions, but hardware can also be relevant.

Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf is a corporation focusing on skin care solutions, managing brands like Nivea and looking for companies that will help shape the future of skin care and wellbeing.

They’re interested in being the first pilot client of a startup, whether the offering is related software or a physical product.

Telia Lab

Telia Lab is seeking startups with whom to test new customer-based business and technology ideas. They’re the startup partnership unit of Telia, a large telecom in the Nordics and Baltics.

An ideal outcome from a partnership would be a new product they can sell to their existing client base.

Their focus is on software solutions, especially those working with mobile data. They’re also interested in emerging business areas like circular economy data solutions.

F10 Fintech Accelerator

F10 is a multi-corporate incubator and accelerator focusing on solutions for the Swiss financial sector.

As they are seeking matches to collaborate with their corporate partners, most of the startups they work with are B2B or B2B2C. They do work with especially strong or suitable B2C and B2G ones as well.

In their incubator program the invest CHF 200k for graduating startups, which are typically approx. 2/3 of companies who start the program. Their aim is that everyone would graduate. The investment is done as a convertible note.