Start-up accelerator programme to be launched

Over 170 startups worldwide applied for a start-up accelerator programme organised by Nordea and Nestholma. In November, the 10 startups selected so far will begin working on Nordea's premises in Vallila, Helsinki. 

The purpose of the programme is to let start-up companies innovate new digital services for customers.

- We were delighted to receive applications from many interesting Fintech companies from all over the world, including India and the US. We have now chosen the 10 startups with which we will start a three-month cooperation, says Christian Bornfeld, head of Nordea's Digital Banking.

A new kind of campus

In addition to being given a working space, each startup chosen for the programme will be assigned a mentor from Nordea for the project's duration and experts from all over Nordea will be at the startups' disposal. Nordea's cooperation partner in the project is Nestholma, which will also finance the participating startups.

A new type of innovative working space awaits the startups in Vallila. 

- We'll join the accelerator to challenge ourselves. It's essential for us to enter an environment where we'll face continuous challenges from customers and investors alike in everything we do, says Jouko Salonen, who is launching a startup company called Nordledger within the accelerator. 

Nordledger is building a financing service which will become part of the supply chains that provide finance or need working capital financing. 

Still possible to get selected for the accelerator

It is still possible to get selected for the accelerator in Slush Ultrahack, which will be organised at the beginning of November in Helsinki. Ultrahack is a massive event where a large number of coders develop solutions for challenges put forward by prominent companies and public corporations and compete for admittance to the international Slush corporate event, where they will have the chance to present their products to international investors. The event is part of the Slush Hacks concept.

The companies selected so far are: B2B Pay (GER), Feelingstream (EST), Nordigen (LAT), NurtUp (FI), Palkkaus.fi (FI), PayPeanuts (GER), Polycoin (ISR), RealSource (FI), Nordledger (FI) and Wone (FI).

Read more about the accelerator programme