Finland, the happiest country in the world for the sixth time in a row, is a home to a vibrant startup ecosystem with more than 3,800 startups and 196 investors (dealroom). According to the recent study published by StartupBlink, Finland´s Startup ecosystem is ranked as #7 in Western Europe and #13 worldwide!
The ecosystem has given birth to more than 10 unicorns including Rovio games (An entertainment media company and creator of Angry Birds franchise), Wolt (A technology company that makes it incredibly easy to discover and get great food delivered), and Supercell (Building a new kind of gaming experience for tablets and other touch devices). Most of these are headquartered in the capital city of Helsinki which is the leading hub in the country, and is followed by the cities of Oulu, Tampere and Turku cities. Helsinki and Oulu are two Finnish cities ranked in the top 5 Cities of Nordics according to the StartupBlink`s report.
As a country with a population of 5.5 million, Finland has global success stories including Nokia`s mobile phone dominance, first heart rate monitor, black box at the planes, 5G and Linux operating system. It also ranks amongst the world`s top 10 most innovative countries. The leading industries include gaming, bioeconomy, clean and smart technologies, health and wellbeing, ICT and digitalization, and travel and tourism. Not only is Finland famous for its companies and technological innovations, but it also ranks high achieving UN sustainable development goals (SDG’s). In international comparison, Finland has achieved SDGs #1.
Why Finland? What drives the ecosystem?
Finland has many reasons why many international startups find the ecosystem interesting. The business environment is stable, and the society is safe and transparent with relatively low level of bureaucracy. People are highly educated, and the country has the best expertise in digital technologies. These factors contribute to the country’s attractiveness and its position as one of the top business-friendly locations in the world.
What`s next!
Business Finland`s Work in Finland together with the Embassy of Finland in Ankara is calling for Turkish startups to Finland-Turkiye Startup Competition with an award ticket to Slush as well as guidance and connections with the local stakeholders. If you are keen to learn more and apply to this competition, please choose one of our local partners and submit your application directly with them.
Useful Links:
- Finnish startup environment – Business Finland
- Coolest ecosystem, hottest startups – How Finland works – Business Finland
- Establish Your Business (businessfinland.com)
- Cost Calculator (businessfinland.com)
- Unicorns unlimited – Business Finland
Startup services offered by the cities:
- Turku Startup Kit | Turku Business Region
- Tampere:
- Helsinki Partners page
- Business Helsinki softlanding page here
- Oulu https://oulu.com/en/business/innovations-and-ecosystems/
- Espoo Landing Services | Enter Espoo
- Vantaa https://business.vantaa.fi/en/invest-vantaa
Other unicorns in Finland:
- Aiven (An information technology company – fully-managed open source data infrastructure immediately deployable in public clouds.)
- Oura (An award-winning and fast-growing startup that helps people track all stages of sleep and activity.),
- Relex Solutions (Provider of cutting-edge retail optimization software)
- HMD Global (A start-up founded in Espoo, Finland, a collective of passionate and experienced people including some of the most talented and well-recognised leaders in the mobile industry today.)