ESPOO (19.11.2024) – ESA BIC Finland, the business incubator of the European Space Agency ESA in Finland, organizes two application rounds in Finland every year, where early-stage startups can apply to join ESA’s business incubator program. The prerequisites are space-related business, under five years of age and location of the business in Finland. The Aalto Startup Center in Espoo’s Otaniemi coordinates the activities of ESA BIC Finland, the University of Vaasa is involved as a partner, and city cooperation is carried out in Tampere and Turku in addition to Helsinki and Espoo.
“The space connection required of our startups can be, for example, a business based on satellite data, farming methods suitable for space conditions, or materials that work in extreme cold. We want to encourage companies to think about their potential from the perspective of the space industry and help them turn innovative ideas into successful businesses,” says ESA BIC Finland project manager Kaisa Ahonen.
Companies that pass the application process receive versatile support from the incubator – for example, training related to business financing, communication, marketing and team building, and technical assistance from partner companies. Participants also become part of the international community of Aalto University’s Startup Center and its Finnish partners and ESA BIC. ESA and Business Finland will jointly finance startups selected for the program with a maximum of 90,000 euros during the year-long program.
Among the new companies selected for autumn 2024, NorthBase, the first private builder of satellite ground stations in the Nordic countries, will next seek international growth.
“Lapland’s northern location and Finland’s excellent telecommunication connections offer data-secure and carbon-neutral services to satellite operators worldwide. We expect that the ESA BIC network will help us in this goal”, says Tommi Rasila, CEO of NorthBase.
For further information, please contact:
NorthBase Oy, Tommi Rasila, Founder and Chairman
Tel. +358 407 508 158
tommi.rasila@northbase.fi
ESA BIC Finland, Kaisa Ahonen, Project Manager
ESA BIC Finland
Tel. +358 50 3503573
kaisa.ahonen@aalto.fi
