30 Mar HOT March Nordic/Baltic Tech News, Events and Opportunities

Hello all and Welcome to our March newsletter…

?  Busy busy busy doing……an awful lot, as it happens! March has been another hectic month of events, courses and the usual networking here for us at TNA. The increase in in-person happenings has also given us all a fresh sense of impetus and the opportunity, alongside normal daily business, to take on extra activities. These included celebrations to mark International Women’s Day and the Women’s Health digital tech brunch,  turning our attention to robotics at the R-22 event, launching cohorts of programmes in Denmark and Finland, and, as always, making new connections and friends along the way.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look back at the month and forward to the many activities we have in store, starting with Women in Tech.

“WOMEN IN TECH” COMMUNITY. LATEST NEWS… 

?? We’ve been really busy in Finland in March, where we launched Cohort 1:  #Helsinki Female Tech Founders Frontrunners: International Mentoring Programme.  Congratulations to all successful Cohort 1 applicants:
Laura Avonius, Founder & CEO, Audicin; Windi Muziasari, CEO, Resistomap; Kirsi Korhonen, Founder, International Fox Agency; Tanja Malo, Founder, International Fox Agency; Jenny Law, CEO, Little Heroes / Lightning Hero; Piia Kuosmanen, Co-founder & CEO, Velbi; Eija Kiviranta, Founder & CEO, Work Pilots; Viktoria Holzmann, CEO, Ateria Enterprises; Shweta Singh, Chief Business Officer, iLu Space; Sonja-Maria Ignatius, Co-Founder & CEO, Kausal; Anna Fatima Sambou, Founder & CEO, Heemlig; Alejandra Cobos, Founder, MindMatters; Krista Paloheimo, Founder & CEO, Handpicked Cherries; Dona Khurana, CEO, Si6nal; Veera Virintie, CEO, Silta Education; Gabrielle Mantell, Founder & CEO, Live By; Jenny Jalasto, CEO and Founder, In & In; Kaisa Savola, CEO, Talbit; Inkeri Borgman, Founder & CEO, Gigle and Feiya Long, Founder & CEO, Moi Panda.

A huge Kiitos to our participants and many partners who have worked on and supported the programme – we salute you!

Applications are now open for Cohort 2. Apply HERE

?? And there’s been plenty going on in Denmark too, with the latest Cohort 1 International Accelerator for High Growth (Potential) Tech companies Led by women. Among a raft of activities in March were a fascinating workshop conducted by Ayuna Nechaeva, Head of Europe (LSEG – London Stock Exchange Group) on key traits of successful tech scaleups and why startups fail. It was an engaging session and one highly appreciated by all who took part. And on 22 March, we had a great session on Product -Market-fit, delivered by Oren Greenberg, Founder / CEO, Kurve

?? HUGE congrats also to all the founders selected to Cohort 2 of our International Accelerator for High Growth (Potential) Tech companies Led by women, in Denmark. The journey continues….!

Applications are now open for Cohort 3. See info below. Apply here


NEWS FROM…SWEDEN ??

Early-stage venture capitalists Creandum have raised €448 million in their sixth early-stage fund. The Stockholm-based firm has previously helped many of the most successful tech startups of all time, with unicorn investments including Spotify, Klarna, Trade Republic, Cornershop, Kahoot! and Bolt.

Announcing the latest round, General Partner, Simon Schmincke emphasised the company’s continued focus on European founders looking to go global. “We commit to founders before the world catches on, before everyone knows it’s obvious. This new fund will continue to back similarly talented product-led founders, identifying the next-gen of European unicorns,” he said.  


NEWS FROM…FINLAND ??
It’s an open secret that major streaming sites are looking to muscle in on the games sector, so perhaps it was no surprise to hear that Netflix is acquiring Next Games, the Finnish developer behind mobile games based on the show Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. The American streaming giant has reportedly swooped in with a shareholder buyout valued at approximately ​​€65 million. The Helsinki-based developer, founded in 2013, has already successfully collaborated with Netflix on one Stranger Things title called Puzzle Tales, making the acquisition a logical extension into the arena for Netflix.

NEWS FROM…DENMARK ??

 

Last week, we were at R-22, the largest robotics, automation and drones event in the Nordics, running startup pitches, panels and hosting everyone at our stand. Eight greatt companies pitched to potential clients and partners. Well done to them all: Kimmo Kuokkanen, CEO & Co-founder, Statzon, Klaus Kesje, X-drive Robots, Martin Haurballe, CEO, Buildcode, Søren Johannes Bjerre, CCO & Co-founder, Autonomous Units, Balázs Megyeri, CEO & Co-founder, NAUST Robotics, Kenneth Richard Geipel, CEO, Robotto, Aldus von der Burg, CEO & Founder, Meili Robots, Gabriele Favaro, Policy and Projects Officer, TRINITY Robotics.Thank you also to Nikolaj Juhl Hansen, Partner, Magnusson; Irfan Goandal; Partner, Promentum Equity Partners; Andrew Heneghan, Business Development Director, Andgo Systems; Jannike Borg, Founder, Acero Tech; and Katrine Anne Larsen, Co-founder / COO, hococo for a great panel about international startup growth opportunities and challenges AND to Thuri Kledal, Founder, VR-Nature; Mie Haraldsted, Founder/CEO, Aim Robotics; and Vera Reshetina, Founder/CEO, Workee for a great panel discussing opportunities and challenges for female tech founders and how our #WomeninTech Growth Programme is supporting them.


NEWS FROM…NORWAY ??
While the energy sector may have suffered a bad rap in some quarters this year, Norwegian company Tibber has highlighted the way tech can play a big role in helping out customers – and has clearly made a lot of friends in the process. Touting itself as “The energy company that wants you to consume less,” Tibber has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round led by Europe’s largest impact fund, Summa Equity. The Norwegian operator offers consumers access to renewable energy supplies, along with a range of smart home devices to control it with. Tibber has now raised a total of $181.5 million in a mix of equity and debt funding as it bids to expand by beefing up its product offering to serve current markets Norway, Sweden and Germany, and new launches.


NEWS FROM THE BALTICS ?? ?? ??
With the future of fuel very much top-of-mind all over the world these days, Riga-based Naco is hoping to be part of the hydrogen revolution. The Latvian startup has raised €1.5 million in a seed round for its plan to build a manufacturing station to provide its clients with ready-to-use coated parts for hydrogen production.
Latvia, like many other countries, is making major advances in renewable energy, hydrogen being one of many. Naco’s mission is to empower a shift towards hassle-free hydrogen production. The platform has already developed new solutions for global players in the green hydrogen market, including Siemens Energy, Hyundai, and Plug Power. 


NEWS FROM…ICELAND ??
Icelandic gaming studio Arctic Theory has raised $2million in its latest funding round. The investment comes on the back of an initial investment into the company by the founders, gaming veterans Gisli KonradssonMatthias GudmundssonSnorri Sturluson and Jon Bjarni Bjarnason, as well as a grant from the Technology Development Fund last year. With this increased capital, Arctic Theory aim to grow from eight to 20 people and release their first game in the second half of 2023.


STARTUP OF THE MONTH ??
March 2022 will go down as month to remember for Swedish open insurance platform Insurely. The company, founded in 2018 by Martin EinemoJohan ForsmanEric Sevelius, and Lotta Rauséus, marked a major breakthrough in its mission to digitise the insurance market by raising €19 million Euros to further expand their operation.

Their easy-to-use open insurance solutions include a platform that makes it possible for insurers and financial players to access real-time data from the insurance market. It has already proved to be a hit in its home market Sweden, while the new injection will help expansion with initial plans for moves into France and the UK.


UPCOMING EVENTS
Along with our courses, events are vital to what we do and to getting our messages across, whether they be digital, in our own region, or further afield. We love seeing new (and older) faces and they present perfect networking possibilities. And as restrictions are lifted gradually across the globe, we’re seeing more and more great opportunities.

International Women’s Day Event
Come join us at our International Women’s Day Event, hosted by our partner Nordea Startup & Growth and help us celebrate women tech leaders and founders, learn how to communicate and network effectively, get inspired by amazing women tech leaders and expand your network. Join HERE

London Tech Week 
Still in London, the British capital plays host to London Tech Week from June 13th-17th. The event, held in person this year, boasts some 300-plus top-level speakers including industry heads and politicians and they are expecting over 20,000 people to visit over the five days. Back with a bang!

 

 

Smaller in scale but certainly not in terms of tech sector significance, Sthlm Fintech Week  will be held in the spring for the first time ever this year. Another in-person event, you can expect to see a wide range of issues discussed, including BNPL & Embedded finance, PayTech, RegTech, Combating the Dark Side of Fintech, Ecosystem Banking, cybersecurity, Impact driven Fintech, sustainability and more. The event runs from April 19th-22nd..


IMPORTANT INFO FROM OUR PARTNERS TO SUPPORT YOUR GROWTH 
Our partners can help you and your businesses in any number of ways and we are proud to have them onboard.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has announced a strategic investment and long-term partnership with Floww, a platform that connects investors with private companies. The partnership enables LSEG to support private companies with the capital they need to grow, and it positions them to drive innovation in trading and post trade activities. It is the latest move by LSEG as part of its strategy to modernise the capital markets and further build its presence in the private markets.

Floww’s growing digital platform already features 7,000 company profiles and 70 venture capital firms, enabling ambitious companies to access capital while providing greater opportunities for investors. The platform provides a standardised and trusted source of data, allowing investors to monitor and track their investments as well as identify new ones. LSEG will work with Floww to help launch their private primary capital raising facility, while exploring liquidity and secondary market options, including through the use of new technologies.

Many of our members are involved in projects that require international funding. Last year saw the EU bring in new regulations around foreign direct investment (FDI) as part of a broader trend among Western countries to strengthen FDI regime – in 2018, the US adopted new policies and others have followed suit since. Our partners Magnusson Law have extensive experience in these matters, so if you’re looking to raise funds abroad, get in touch and find out how they can help. Nikolaj Juhl Hansen, Partner, Magnusson, gave a great talk at R22 on the subject:

Interested to understand more about Crypto and Blockchain?
TNA member 4ire Labs are our go-to experts. They recently launched their latest tech service – NFT Marketplace Development and also offer many articles about crypto, NFTs and blockchain development, PLUS expert guides that extensively cover these new and fascinating technologies.

 


IN THE PRESS/MEDIA

Great to see Helsinki Smart Region’s coverage of the launch of “Helsinki Female tech Founder Frontrunners” – our Female Tech Founder Frontrunner programme in Helsinki, featuring interviews with our CEO Jeanette CarlssonMarjo Miettinen, Chairman of the Board, Enst, Founder, WomeninTech, Finland and Programme steering group; Teija Nousiainen, Deal Flow Manager, Nordea, Startup & Growth, Programme Partner. Thanks again to all involved. Read the full article (in English) here

It’s always good to see our name in the media, as it provides concrete proof that we’re relevant and that the word about what we do is spreading. So we were delighted with the great article about TNA in the Danish daily broadsheet Berlingske this month. The article highlights what we’re about, how we reached this point and of course our ambitions for the future. We’re confident we’re on the right track and the more the word gets out, the more others will too. Featuring interviews with our TNA Chair Stine Bosse along with several of our partners including Anne Honum Høy Jørgensen at Netcompany and Magnusson’s Nikolaj Juhl Hansen, the article provides an insight into what we do as well as the ongoing challenges we are facing. It is in Danish, so you’ll need to put to work – but it’ll be well worth it. Find it HERE 


FROM US…. RAISING CAPITAL TO SUPPORT YOUR GROWTH?
? Did you know we offer a Startup/Investor Scouting Programme, connecting fundraising startups/scaleups with suitable investors from our network? If you’re a startup/scaleup raising funds, get in touch hereIf you’re an investor looking for deal flow, please email us for an introduction.

OR COULD YOU DO WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND? 
? Could a Mentor help you? Did you know that we offer a global mentoring programme matching our Advocates with mentors across the globe from our Global Tech Advocates network, spanning over 20 tech hubs globally? Join today (Solo membership or Business Membership) and get access to top quality mentors across all continents, who can help accelerate your growth.

GLOBAL TECH ADVOCATES (GTA) NEWS

Remember: Tech Nordic Advocates is the Nordic/Baltic arm of Global Tech Advocates (GTA) – the world’s only global tech/startup ecosystem spanning 25 global tech hubs.

Our global tech family is expanding rapidly. New GTA Sibling networks launching include:

  • Tech Florida Advocates led by Luis launches on 10th May
  • Tech Berlin Advocates led by Matthias launches on 12th May
  • Tech UAE Advocates launches on 26th May (with a more formal launch in October in Dubai)

Did you know we have our own global tech news hub? Check out GTA Connects 

If you are interested to expand from the Nordics and Baltics, into the UK, or any other 20+ places globally in our Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates network, reach out to us at Tech Nordic Advocates for an intro.