Maddie Savage
BBC News, Helsinki
Maria 01
Maria 01 will become Europe’s largest emerging campus
Yellow digging is hardening the mounds of the earth as construction workers prepare to lay the foundations for what will become Europe’s biggest start-up campus.
The project is an expansion of Maria 01, a large company that is a coworking and event space for entrepreneurs and investors and wants to work with high-tech startups.
The existing facility across the street already houses 240 startups. They spread across six buildings that were used to make up the city’s first hospital, founded in the 19th century, and are notorious in Helsinki to treat patients with plague.
Currently, the current 20,000 square metre site is a hub for companies developing innovative health technologies alongside AI, cybersecurity, gaming and defense technology startups.
“The whole place is really community-based,” says Sarita Runeberg, CEO of Maria 01. “We can connect people and network them, and find different types of resources to help grow our business.”
There are also office perks such as pool tables, table football, running, ice bath clubs and true Finnish styles of saunas.
“If we didn’t have our own sauna here, we wouldn’t be the right startup hub!” laughs Looneverg.
Maddie Savage
Sarita Runeberg oversees the major expansion of Maria 01
Coworking spaces for high-tech companies are well established throughout Scandinavia, but Maria 01 is the largest variety in the region.
It operates as a nonprofit organization, partially funded by the city of Helsinki, which has invested more than 6 million euros ($6.7 million, £5.2 million) in the hub since its launch in 2016.
Runeberg believes that by 2028, three new buildings will be completed and added 50,000 square meters of floor space will become Europe’s largest emerging campus.
Later this year we will launch an accelerator program designed to support and guide high-growth startups.
The current and previous members of the hub have already raised over 1 billion euros in funding.
This represents around 40% of all early stage funds raised annually by Finnish startups.
Ruben Byron is the co-founder of a startup that provides cloud services to AI developers.
He has already expanded his business remotely from a small number of staff using the hub’s hot desks, a team of about 40 people from the private offices of the former hospital.
“It was a great experience, what we can do [to] In a way, be raised here,” he says.
Maddie Savage
Reuben Byron has grown his company to 40 staff at Helsinki’s startup hub
Though not as mature as other European startup hubs like Sweden and the UK, or well-known worldwide, Finland has steadily made a name for itself in the high-tech scene over the past 20 years.
With a population of around 5.6 million, the small Scandinavian country has produced 12 unicorn companies (a company with over $1 billion) including the ring of sleep and fitness tracking rings, game developer Supercell, Rovio (creator of Angry Birds games), and food distribution platform Wolt.
Last year, Startup Blink, a global index that maps over 100 countries, ranked Finland’s emerging ecosystem seventh in Western Europe and 14th in the world.
The index cites factors including hubs like Maria 01, high-level state and university support, and a massive gathering of annual nonprofits aimed at global startups and investors.
It also highlights Finland’s transparent and open business culture.
“Finns have authenticity,” says Jack Parker, Helsinki-based founder from Newcastle upon Tyne, who runs a healthcare innovation startup.
“Ego doesn’t actually play a role, so if you reach out to someone, it’s very likely that they’ll respond eight out of ten.”
Maddie Savage
British entrepreneur Jack Parker says Finns have been very welcoming
The Finland Right-wing Union, which came to power in 2023, said it is on a mission to push the country even further into the global index, hoping that the Nordic nation will become a leader in fostering an ecosystem of dynamic start-ups and growth companies.
“It’s not just rankings,” says Marjo Ilmari, who runs the startup services team at Business Finland, a government agency that drives investment and innovation.
In 2024, Business Finland alone invested 112 million euros in startups, an increase of 30% compared to the previous year.
“The real goal is to create an environment where groundbreaking startups can emerge and truly tackle global challenges.”
Government agencies hope this will drive growth in the now slowing down Finland economy in 2023, with Finland’s Bank of Finland projecting an increase of less than 1% this year.
The country is also looking to attract more global talent by providing startups to international founders who want to grow their businesses in Finland.
These entrepreneurs are eligible for the so-called soft landing support package offered by Business Finland.
“They give you advice, support, and sometimes grants to support you in the initiation phase,” says Lalin Kievan, a Turkish-born entrepreneur from Maria 01, who said that it was one of the main reasons she moved to Helsinki.
Business Finland marketing campaign for movers also highlights social and lifestyle factors. Finns tend to prioritize happiness, plus free education and subsidized health care and childcare.
“You don’t have to choose to build a high-growth company and enjoy life because you can do both,” Irmali says.
Getty Images
Business Finland highlights the reasons for choosing Helsinki
However, whether Finland is sufficient to compete with Europe’s more established startup hubs is debate.
The data suggests there is still a long way to go to catch up with neighbouring Sweden, the Scandinavian beloved of the European startup scene.
It is home to over 40 unicorn companies, including Spotify, Payments Platform Klarna and Game Developer King.
In Startup, Sweden ranks second in Europe, behind the UK, and tops in the EU.
In the past decade, it has raised over $29 billion in funding compared to over $8 billion, which is more than $8 billion, compared to Finland’s $8 billion, according to a European technical report by investment firm Atomico.
“I love Finland’s bold approach,” says Charlotte Ekelund, associate CEO of Sting, a nonprofit organization that helps develop startups in Stockholm. But she believes Finland is still years behind Sweden in terms of pulling capital and developing its ecosystem.
“We are observing some of the things that Finnish ecosystems are doing now. [and] New organizations in the ecosystem can support them in a variety of ways. ”
Michael Pentikanen, CEO of the Finland Enterprise Federation, says the country’s government is currently losing support among entrepreneurs despite its entrepreneurs and professional business approach.
A recent survey of the organization found that 41% of small and medium-sized business owners were satisfied with the coalition’s actions from 54% in June.
One possible reason for DIP was the decision to raise VAT from 24% to 25.5% last September, Pentikainen said, which is the highest rate in Western Europe. The government said this was a “difficult but necessary” move designed to stabilize the finances.
However, Penticainen suggests that the Finnish startup ecosystem could be less competitive for international founders.
The Finnish government has recently tightened its citizenship requirements. This means that foreign entrepreneurs need to stay at least eight years, not five, to obtain their passports, and soon pass the test on Finnish society and culture.
Back at Maria 01, Parker, the founder of the health company, says he is confident that Finland’s emerging ecosystem will continue to expand and attract international talent. However, he warns that he could lose some of the aspects that have so far become attractive options for entrepreneurs.
“The advantage of the ecosystem today is that this kind of “small towns, everyone knows each other.” [feeling]. If you expand it, you risk actually losing that element. ”
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