Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for a long time but is now gathering momentum as smartphone processing power and internet connectivity speeds have increased whilst consumption costs have declined. Major mobile handset manufacturers support Apps with AR functionality and future experiences will be embedded in handsets and available ‘out of the box’. In addition to Apple and their ARKit, …

The two Danish NGOs, the Children’s Fund and the Maternity Foundation have just received 4.2 million kroner to reduce the number of mothers and infants who die during and after birth in refugee camps in Ethiopia. The Danish-developed Safe Delivery, developed by the Maternity Foundation, will provide 50 local midwives in seven Ethiopian refugee camps with clinical training and teaching …

Free zones are specific areas located within different countries where businesses operate under different tax laws separate from the rest of the country. Companies who are doing their business within free zones are usually taxed very lightly or not at all. Today, such areas are developed globally and they are located around seaports, airports or areas with strong strategic placement …

Rising North is a fund that aims to help Nordic startups become global leaders. It finances with up to €50,000 unique projects and initiatives that tackle the challenges limiting the growth of Nordic companies. The fund is operated in Finland by the Startup Foundation, which is a non-profit founded in 2012 to support entrepreneurship and startups. The fund that totals …

Finland continues to be the most attractive Nordic country for securing foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with 133 ventures commenced in 2016. This is the fifth consecutive year Finland beats its neighbours in attracting FDI projects. According to the Attractiveness Report 2017 by EY, Finland seized 41 per cent of FDI projects started in the Nordics last year. The secured 133 …

The Danish App Hoods, which launched in November, has a namesake in the United States – that is, a similar app with the same name.  But what are the rules really when you happen to have the same good idea as someone in another country? The idea was sound. It originated from a need the founder, Susanne Sandsberg, experienced after …

A sign reading “Not a hospital” greets you as you enter the newish start-up hub of Helsinki, Maria 1-0. The first time I walked under the sign, my instant thought was how many people have come here  to seek treatment – the hospital was only closed a few years ago. The possible hospital-creeps, however, disappear as you enter the colourful …

According to research by McKinsey, diversity means higher financial performance for companies.  King, the gaming powerhouse behind games such as Candy Crush, works towards inclusion through “nudging”. “There is a direct correlation between diversity and companies’ financial performance,” says Stine Rømmen Andersen, leader for diversity research at McKinsey Norway. At the recent Innoversity conference in Oslo she presented McKinsey’s findings …

Creathor Venture announced this week that it is leading a financing round of up to €14 million for Helsinki-based Blueprint Genetics, an AI-enabled clinical genetic testing company.   Blueprint Genetics is among a wave of Nordic companies using AI within med-tech, including Lytics, Medeye, and Nox Medical. Blueprint Genetics, which launched in 2012, provides clinical genetic testing for the diagnosis of …

Remember the Pokemon Go and all the hype and fiver around it?  You will be surprised, but the next big thing is already here.  Augmented Reality is ready to be introduced to anyone who owns an Apple device running the iOS 11 this fall. On the WWDC this June, Senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi announced the numerous inventions …

Heidi Berg and her team was one of the winners of the first round of Ignite intrapreneurship programme. She and Nazmin Neza are now developing Engage, a new business venture, in Grameenphone, Telenor Group’s company in Bangladesh. The goal with our product is to help over one million sales agents in Telenor to communicate better with their customers. “We are …

CrowdEyes is a twist on the format of traditional dating apps to help people who lose or forget their things at this year’s Roskilde Festival. With a festival area equivalent to 350 football pitches, the analogy of “finding a needle in a haystack” is apt if you misplace something by accident. “If you find a lost thing and would like …

In 2016, Finnish startup and early stage growth companies raised the second highest amount of venture capital funding in Europe when looking at investments as percentage of GDP. The investment amount was almost twice as large as the European average.  Sweden and Denmark are also among the top countries attracting venture capital. Finns can be proud of their rank in …

At the end of May 2017, Finland’s Feedbackly announced they were planning to expand to Mexico.  Founded in 2013, the company has had success in Europe, where their multichannel customer experience measurement tool has been used by companies such as Kesko, Tiger and XXL Sport.  CEO Jaako Männistö guest blogs about why the company chose Mexico as their first point …

Nordic design is indeed trending worldwide. In less than three hours the new Danish watch brand IVER Denmark reached their funding goal on Kickstarter with backers from four continents, going well beyond the expectations of the team. Founder Kristian Asbjørn Iversen, shares his insights as to how they prepared for the launch. By Kristian Asbjørn Iversen Launch social media profiles …