Can Finland compete as Europe’s start-up capital?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We’re in Helsinki where Europe’s biggest campus for startup companies is being built. What role could it play as Finland strives to create the continent’s most supportive environment for new businesses?

We’ll look at some of the challenges the country’s facing as it competes for global investment and tech talent.

And hear from Sweden - does it see Finland taking its start-up crown anytime soon?

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Maddy Savage

(Picture: Turkish entrepreneur Lalin Keyvan, who's founded a startup in Finland. Credit: BBC)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. I'm Maddie Savage and today
0:08.4	I'm in Helsinki, Finland for the next episode in our series on startups. This small Nordic
0:15.5	nation already has a global reputation for its design and architecture, abundant forests and progressive gender
0:22.5	policies. Now, it's trying to make a name for itself as the best place in Europe for new
0:27.9	young companies aiming to grow quickly, known as startups. It's not just about rankings. The real
0:34.6	goal is to create an environment where our groundbreaking startups can
0:39.4	drive growth into Finnish economy. In this episode, I'll be visiting a co-working space
0:45.0	that's expanding to what it believes will be the largest startup campus in the EU. I'll also be
0:50.8	meeting entrepreneurs who've already decided to launch businesses in Finland and digging into their opportunities and challenges.
0:58.0	The advantage of the ecosystem right now is this kind of small town, everybody knows each other.
1:02.3	Scaling that up, there is the risk of actually losing that element.
1:08.9	We're starting the program here at a giant co-working hub for startup companies.
1:14.0	It's made up of former hospital buildings, the oldest of which dates back to the 19th century,
1:19.5	where many patients here had the plague, a deadly disease that caused pandemics in Europe and Asia.
1:25.8	The hospital closed down in 2014, and emerging tech companies started moving in Europe and Asia. The hospital closed down in 2014 and emerging tech companies started
1:30.2	moving in two years later. So my name is Salita Runeberg. I am the CEO here at Maria Zero One.
1:37.2	So we have the Nordic's largest startup community. There are six buildings here and we have about
1:42.8	240 different startups.
1:45.0	And then we also have the large majority of Finnish early stage investors here
1:48.9	and a large amount of corporate partners as well that are known to be startup friendly.
1:53.3	So when you say it's the largest, it's the largest community all in one place.
1:57.2	Exactly.
	...

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