Five new Vigo accelerators selected
Building on the success of the first batch of accelerators, the new funding and sweat equity firms extend Vigo's reach to a higher number of promising ventures in a wider variety of focus areas.Vigo Program, a pioneering Finnish public-private initiative to encourage serial entrepreneurs and experienced business leaders to establish private venture accelerators, has appointed five new accelerators.
The new accelerators selected from tens of applicants are BioAssetInvest (health technologies), Gorilla Ventures (ICT-enabled disruptions), Newentures (energy, cleantech, applied ICT), Royal Majestics Helsinki (desing and fashion innovations) and Vendep (mobile solutions, network based services). A major goal is to increase the diversity of focus areas of Vigo.
Established to address the key market deficiencies limiting the growth and internationalization of promising startup companies in Finland, the Vigo Program has significantly increased the availability of early-stage funding and experienced hands-on expertise. Privately owned and operated accelerators invest private equity and business know-how into ventures of their choice.
The Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy launched the Vigo Program in 2009 with an objective to create new growth companies in Finland and to accelerate their growth and internationalization. The purpose is to engage experienced business professionals to develop new innovative companies and to attract significant venture capital investments from Finland and abroad. The objectives also include increasing the efficiency of Finland’s venture capital market. Public funding sources include Tekes and Finnvera. The Vigo steering group is appointed by The Ministry of Employment and Economy. The program is run by Tekes and coordinated by Profict Partners. For further information, please visit www.vigo.fi
Kaj Nordgren 12.4.2012 00:00