Today Maria 01, the leading startup campus in the Nordics, released its new 2020 impact report. Based on the report, startups based in Maria 01 raised €348 million in funding – a 102% increase from 2019. The report also highlights an increase in companies founded by women, positive developments of internationalization, and the creation of new jobs.
Fundraising levels are often a global indicator of startup ecosystem maturity. In 2020, 49% of the funding raised came from active domestic startup members, 38% from startups with a non-Finnish headquarters, and 13% from former startup members. Collectively, Maria 01 startup members went through 32 funding rounds in 2020, a 28% increase from 2019.
— 2020 brought a lot of uncertainty and challenges to many in the startup ecosystem. However, the year was also filled with silver linings, like the growing numbers in startup funding and recruiting. It has been amazing to see how the startup scene has shown a steady resilience, the ability to innovate and pivot to a new era of growth, says Ville Simola, CEO of Maria 01.
This year’s report includes a net impact analysis of Maria 01’s startup members conducted with The Upright Project's help. Upright enables smarter decision-making for investors, companies, and governments by quantifying the net impact of companies on the environment, health of people, society, and distribution and creation of knowledge.
— By helping startups grow, Maria 01 helps in scaling up their net impact. But without measuring Maria 01 startups' net impact, it is impossible to improve it systematically, says Toni Laitila, COO at The Upright Project.
The positive growth also trickled down into active recruitment. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, startups at Maria 01 created 240 new jobs – an 80% increase from the previous year. “According to our analysis, Maria 01 startups’ most significant contribution to society is the number of jobs they create relative to their revenue, Laitila continues.
While many of the world’s startup hubs and co-working spaces closed down due to the pandemic, Maria 01 stayed strong thanks to its solid not-for-profit business model and community-first focus. As a result, Maria 01 received 18% more membership applications than in 2019.
Maria 01 also continued to support and foster diversity and inclusion on the campus. From a total of 175 startup members, 27 startups are led or founded by women. Additionally, there are 23 startups with an HQ based outside of Finland, and 40 different nationalities on the Maria 01 campus, making the campus one of the most international community spaces in Finland.
— Our vision is to become the largest and most impactful startup campus in Europe by 2026. The way forward to drive a new narrative around impact and startups as forces to lift economies is to bring these numbers to the spotlight and show the world how startup communities thrive,ends Simola.
About Maria 01
Maria 01 is the leading startup campus in the Nordic region. Our community provides a thriving environment for industry-agnostic startups, recognized venture capital firms and investors in Europe, startup ecosystem organizations, and large enterprises with a strong foothold in the tech community, helping each other succeed.
Maria 01 is a community-driven company founded in 2016 and co-owned by the City of Helsinki (34%), Startup Foundation (33%), and Helsinki Enterprise Agency (33%). We operate as a not-for-profit organization that provides a grounded working model looking after its members' interests.
Currently, the campus hosts over 1300 members, over 180 startup companies, 21 partners, and 21 local and foreign VCs and investor network members.
Read more:
Maria 01 Impact Report 2020 Press Kit
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