Held in an unusual setting on the deck of a river raft on the Aura River, the international Å Pitch startup event attracted almost a hundred enthusiastic participants. 12 companies from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Germany and Sweden participated in the pitching competition. The Pitch was organised for the third time under the theme Do Good, Do Business. The event was coordinated by Turku Science Park Ltd and funded by the City of Turku and the Talent Turku programme.
The winner of Å Pitch, Voxmate, was awarded a cash prize of €8,000 at the end of the competition on the river raft Jakke Jokilauta.
The company has developed a mobile solution for blind and visually impaired people. It features a range of voice applications that teach, entertain and help people stay in touch. You can listen to radio stations, news and podcasts, play games, make calls and send instant messages.
“It was nice to see high quality pitches from different countries and different fields. The pitchers performed admirably in slightly unusual, if not challenging, circumstances. The feedback from the pitching competition, which had an original and relaxed atmosphere, was very good, and we will continue to build on this experience next year,” says Sami Uusitalo, who was responsible for the Å Pitch event at Turku Science Park Oy.
Startup Call Turku, a three-month programme aimed at international start-ups and taking place this autumn, was also launched at the event. The call will open in June.
“The programme is ideal for international teams who want to start a company in Finland. Startup Call offers participants office space, help for starting a business in Finland, networking at startup events and getting to know the Turku region. For more information, visit startupcall.fi,” says Lotta Kujanpää from Turku Science Park Ltd.
The jury of the Å Pitch competition included Noora Fagerström, founder of the Finnish company Jungle Juice Bar, startup expert Oki Tåg, president of EstBAN Lev Dolgatsjov, and startup investor Otso Laakkonen.