Young Entrepreneurs Lead the Future of Finland’s Startup Ecosystem
HELSINKI, Finland (November 29, 2023) — Wave Ventures, Europe’s largest student-driven VC, expresses its positive view of the future of the Finnish startup ecosystem. Despite the gloomy scenarios featured in the media during the autumn, new statistics indicate a positive future led by a new wave of young entrepreneurs.
On November 15, 2023, Finnish Venture Capital Association announced that startup funding in Finland had almost halved from earlier in the first half of 2023 [1]. Helsingin Sanomat, in turn, reported on the same date that, since 2010, the Finnish startup scene had experienced significant growth, but this era has now ended with no positive turn in sight [2].
However, Wave Ventures sees hope in the new young wave of entrepreneurs. According to recent statistics gathered by Wave, the number of entrepreneurs who secured their first funding as under 30 years old has almost doubled since 2020, and 2023 is expected to again set a new record. Furthermore, in 2023, Finland will rise for the first time to the top of Nordic countries in the number of young VC-backed founders [3].
“The first wave of young startup entrepreneurs in the 2010s — like the founders of Wolt, Smartly.io, and Carbo Culture — showed the youth of Finland that regardless of your age, it is possible to achieve exceptionally meaningful things with your startup. Inspired by these first examples, we are now seeing more and better-prepared young entrepreneurs than ever. Even though the total funding figures are going downhill this year, I wouldn’t worry about the future — it’s clear that the biggest startup generations of Finland are yet to come,” comments Erik Kymäläinen, CEO of Wave Ventures.
Wave team visiting New York in October to share the local VCs insights about what (and who) is coming next from the Nordics.
[1] Pääomasijoittajat ry. (15.11.2023). Startup-rahoitus pudonnut ennätyksistä vuoden alkupuoliskolla — isot rahoituskierrokset hyytyneet, mutta alkuvaiheen sijoituksia tehdään aktiivisesti.https://paaomasijoittajat.fi/startup-rahoitus-fi-h1-2023/
[2] Lappalainen, E. (15.11.2023). Ulkomaiset sijoittajat kaikkosivat ja jättipotteja ei enää näy. Helsingin Sanomat. https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000009990002.html
[3] Wave Ventures / Erik Kymäläinen. (2023). Comparative analysis of Nordic startup ecosystems from the perspective of young founders. The initial dataset was compiled by aggregating funding data from multiple authoritative sources, including local venture capital associations, aggregate databases (Tracxn, Crunchbase), startup media outlets (Arctic Startup, Nordic9), and the portfolios of known early-stage VC investors. The inclusion criteria for the startups were that the first VC funding round was dated between January 1, 2020, and September 31, 2023.
About Wave Ventures:
Founded in 2016, Wave Ventures is the largest student-led VC fund in Europe, dedicated to supporting the most promising early-stage startups earlier than others. The company manages two funds, from which they have invested in a total of 45 young teams. For more information, visit: https://wave.ventures/
For additional information:
Erik Kymäläinen, CEO at Wave Ventures
+358 440 90 5977
erik@wave.ventures
Emma Kettunen, Marketing & Communications Manager at Wave Ventures
+358 440 56 4114
emma@wave.ventures
