The activities of Urban Tech Helsinki focus in particular on clean energy, mobility, sustainable construction, the circular economy, waste management and urban food production. Through Urban Tech Helsinki, the City of Helsinki wants to attract experts and businesses to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and support and accelerate the creation and early growth of new startups, especially research-driven ones.
At an April 2023 launch event at Helsinki’s Maria 01 startup hub, the new startups in the incubator introduced themselves and presented their business ideas. These events are an important part of the Urban Tech Helsinki concept, as they enable peer learning and support the sharing of business experiences.
Urban Tech Helsinki consists of coaching sessions and workshops tailored for companies
Urban Tech Helsinki starts with an 8-week intensive period of workshops and group coaching sessions. They cover the key elements of startups, such as business modelling, the impact of sustainability, team building, communications and, of course, finance. Another essential part is individual coaching sessions with the advisers of the Aalto University team that run the incubator’s practical operations.
The Urban Tech Helsinki incubation period lasts 1–3 years, depending on the needs of the company, and seeks to provide early-stage companies with sufficient time to develop their business and test their solutions together with the City of Helsinki’s Testbed and partner network.
“Urban Tech makes Helsinki a unique operator in the startup scene. In many countries, cooperation between startups and public authorities such as cities is non-existent. The services offered by the three universities in areas such as research and student cooperation also give startups a great leg up. Our goal is to foster even more ideas and companies from the campuses to help us solve urban sustainability challenges,” says Kaisa Ahonen, the Urban Tech Helsinki Project Manager at Aalto Startup Center.
Get to know the companies in the Urban Tech Helsinki incubator
The list of companies that began their participation in Urban Tech Helsinki in spring 2023 is as follows: Abau Design, Betula, Binkiapp, Commu, Clidapt, Exaum, HemmaKoti, Make a BIM, REMOTED, Spolia Design and Windaiar.
More information about the companies selected for the Urban Tech Helsinki incubator and their business ideas is available here(Link leads to external service).
Helsinki wants to be Europe’s leading platform for innovative businesses
Helsinki aims be Europe’s leading platform for experimentation and innovation in business by 2025. In addition, the city wants to develop business environments, promote the employment of Helsinki residents and enable sustainable and knowledge-based economic growth. The Urban Tech Helsinki incubator contributes to all of these objectives.
Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences all act as joint partners to the Urban Tech Helsinki incubator.