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Established in 2010, Startup Sauna is a business accelerator programme primarily targeted at promising new growth enterprises in northern and eastern Europe. The programme is convened twice a year at Aalto University. The background for the programme lies in the work of the Startup Foundation, which is supported by Aalto University and other stakeholders such as The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, Sitra - The Finnish Innovation Fund, and Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.

A more international group of startup enterprises than ever before is taking part in this month's four-week-long accelerator programme, which is now being organised for the tenth occasion. In total, 13 different nationalities will be represented by the teams involved, including startups all the way from South Korea, Kenya, and Lebanon.

This year has seen a record level of interest in the programme. A total of 781 enterprises applied to participate in the spring and autumn Startup Sauna events, the top 4.5% of which made it onto the programme.

The programme just starting will see 19 promising teams. Examples of these include (Nairobi, Kenya), which is developing an SMS message-based clinical application intended to reduce infant mortality in developing countries; (Joensuu, Finland), which makes programmable 3D surfaces; and (Beirut, Lebanon), which produces USB memory sticks that protect users' passwords.

In its four-year history, Startup Sauna has welcomed more than 2 600 enterprise applications for its accelerator programme, of which more than 1 100 have gone on to successfully attend one of the coaching events organised locally around the world. To-date, Startup Sauna has provided enterprise support to 126 companies, which have gone on to secure a total of EUR 29 million in external financing.

(startupsauna.com)

Photo: Aalto University/Mikko Raskinen