As #APELAGOInitiative2024 Day 2 unfolds, so does soon the very first Pitch Session of our A’Pelago Accelerator Pilot startups here. 🙌
Over the past half-year, nine Sea Region impact startups and entrepreneurial initiatives have walked a transformative journey with us. Through the 5-month A’Pelago Accelerator Program, they've validated and executed their solutions with the support of a 5-month A’Pelago Accelerator Pilot program and dynamic A'Pelago ecosystem.
Before the pitches, we had on stage eyeopening views on blue themed innovations & investment:
🔵 Kicking off the day our partner from 1000 Ocean Startups Ronald Tardiff provided insights and sharp statistics on the global state of Blue Economy Investment emphazising that urgent need for more funding and startups to reclaim the seas.
🔵 Mikko J. Salminen, Spinverse challenged our thinking on open innovation within ecosystems, showcasing benchmarks from previous successful business ecosystems that have made an impact.
🔵 Sonja Jaari, John Nurmisen Säätiö, brought our focus back more concretely to Baltic Sea bottom and shared lessons learned from EU Funded project BalticReed aiming to improve the state of Baltic Sea coastal waters by developing sustainable reed-based production chains.
🔵 Ville Heikkinen, Butterfly Ventures, shared insights from the Finnish VC perspective on evaluating blue-themed companies. He pointed out that while Finland boasts a strong foundation of research, science, and innovation in the blue sector, radical innovation is still lacking, leaving us with a crucial question: How can Finland lead the world with its blue solutions?
🔵 Mårten Skogö, node.vc continued the discussion on VC perspectives, bringing insights from the more western part of Baltic Sea region, particularly Stockholm coastlines. He identified key challenges to blue innovation in the Baltic Sea, including limited awareness, financial resources, access to international funding, and the complexities of the regulatory and geopolitical environment.
What a day already now!
Next, we move on A’Pelago Accelerator Pitch Session here.
Read more about the Accelerator Program:
👉 https://lnkd.in/dbEnRQqQ
📷 Ubuntu Productions