Huge global interest in business accelerator for the energy sector

The first business accelerator for the energy sector will be launched in Vaasa in October. The accelerator received plenty of applications from all over the world.

The total number of applications was 56. Over two thirds of the applications were sent outside of Finland. The applications came from 24 different countries from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America.

The EnergySpin accelerator is meant for startup and growth companies in energy business seeking strong international growth. The companies that applied are startups in energy business and in fields linked to the energy sector, such as digitalization, IoT, AI, cybersecurity, big data and gamification.

- I am very happy about the great interest in the program. Vaasa is among the leading energy clusters in the world, which can be seen in the great variety and high quality of the applicants, says Marko Koski, Head of EnergySpin.

In mid-September, the twenty most promising startup companies are invited to Vaasa for selection days. During the selection days, the startup entrepreneurs will meet the mentors and partners of the accelerator. The mentors represent different business fields and they have solid experience in driving energy and growth companies to global success. The partners of the accelerator are global business leaders in energy sector and professionals of digitalisation.

Marko Koski (at left) and Marko Kuokkanen

During the selection days, 8-10 startups will be chosen to participate in the program starting in the beginning of October. The ten-week-long Accelerator programme includes company-specific training for business growth planning, product development, commercialization, marketing and communications, and especially financing. The highlight of the program is Slush, the leading startup event in Helsinki.

- We have high expectations because the selected companies have potential to create new solutions in energy business. It’s a privilege to be part of creating something unique together with them, says Marko Kuokkanen, Key Account Manager for EnergySpin.

The operations of the EnergySpin Accelerator are funded and supported by the energy cluster’s partner companies Danfoss, Wärtsilä, Yaskawa/The Switch, Vaasan Sähkö, EY, Elisa, Tieto, Viria, Citec and VNT Management. The Accelerator is one of the development projects included in the City of Vaasa’s growth agreement with the Finnish Government, and the Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK and Technology Centre Merinova are working in collaboration to implement it. The city of Vaasa and The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia are also involved.

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