The second season of Maritime Accelerator, the business accelerator programme serving the maritime industry, has started. The programme creates partnerships between the major players and smaller start-up businesses in the industry. This year the partners are Meyer Turku, Royal Caribbean and Rauma Marine Constructions.
Meyer Turku and Royal Caribbean participated in the Maritime Accelerator programme already last year. The business operations of the new partner Rauma Marine Constructions are strongly based on networking and leading expertise of the industry.
“This year the themes involve, among other things, sustainable development, energy efficiency, artificial intelligence, machine learning and innovations of enterprise resource planning. The partner companies are also interested in new, advanced materials. The current themes important for the competitiveness and innovation capacity include ones that are also topical in many other industries”, says Jukka Laiterä, Senior Advisor at Turku Science Park Ltd.
The search for potential growth businesses is currently underway. Companies can apply for through the programme website at www.maritimeaccelerator.com. Turku Science Park Ltd will implement the programme together with Avanto Ventures which is also searching for potential start-ups for co-operation with the partner companies using its global networks.
“The application period will continue until 11 August, after which the most interesting growth companies will be interviewed in September. The partners will meet with the most promising start-ups at two boot camp events in October. The new solutions generated as a result of the co-operation will be published at an event to be arranged immediately after the third boot camp at the end of November”, says Sofia Tuominen, Growth Advisor at Turku Science Park Ltd.
According to Ms Tuominen, Maritime Accelerator allows for growth companies to access the maritime industry ecosystem, gives visibility within the industry, and advances co-operation with the partner companies.
“At best, the programme will open up doors to international customer networks and expand the target groups of the start-ups. Furthermore, participating in the programme is free of charge for the start-ups, but of course requires commitment to an intensive three-month process.”
Started in 2018, Maritime Accelerator is a business accelerator programme produced by Turku Science Park Ltd together with Avanto Ventures. Co-operation between last year’s finalists and partners still continues after the completion of the first programme.