The Skolkovo Technopark organized the first business visit to Finland for 20 startup companies, residents of Skolkovo. On November 18-20, representatives of these companies visited the city of Salo, Finland – the home city of Nokia. Salo is one of the main cities in southwestern Finland. The well-developed industrial sectors and manufacturing facilities attracted startups from all Skolkovo clusters.
Innovation forum in City of Salo has collected almost 300 participants. In the first line: Mayor of City of Salo Mr. Antti Rantakokko, Chairman of the Board for Nokia Mr. Risto Siilasmaa, Head of Development for International Programs of Technopark Skolkovo Dr. Anna Nikina, Director at Finnish Innovation Agency Tekes Mr. Pauli Noronen.
This Russian-Finnish Innovation Forum was organized for Skolkovo resident companies with the assistance of Antti Rantakokko, Mayor of the City of Salo, the chairman of the board of directors of Nokia, business angels, business leaders and regional startup companies.
Anna Nikina, Head of International Programs Development, organized the program from the Skolkovo Technopark side, and represented its participants. Before the trip, much work had been done to prepare meeting schedules for each startup company, keeping in mind its interests in the search for partners and investments. Anna Nikina said:
This visit focused on mutually fruitful international cooperation between Russian and Finnish companies: we held individual talks with our partners, we visited local innovative businesses, and there were many opportunities for formal and informal business communications. The concept of a “partner”, in this context, is very broad: companies are in search of business, strategic, and technological partners. There are also companies who are willing to consider the placement of their production facilities in Finland, and view this market as part of their international activities.
During this trip, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Skolkovo Technopark and the city development organization Yrityssalo.
The signing of the cooperation agreement between Technopark Skolkovo and organization supporting business development Yrityssalo. In the photo: Dr. Anna Nikina, Head of Development for International Programs of Technopark Skolkovo, and Mr. Kari Vähä, General Director, Yrityssalo
A meeting with Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nokia, was organized especially for the Skolkovo companies. Mr. Siilasmaa noted that Nokia continued to develop its activities in Skolkovo. The primary goal of the company is the implementation of the best displays (according to all measurable criteria), work on imaging, navigation and augmented reality – i.e. all those areas, in which the company seeks to differentiate its products, and thus remain a leader on the world market. During the meeting with Mr. Siilasmaa, several Skolkovo startups had an opportunity to introduce themselves and discuss opportunities for business cooperation. In addition, during warm and open conversations they received feedback from the chief executive of a large global brand.
Especially for Skolkovo companies a meeting was held with Mr. Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Board, Nokia
Visit to Nokia at City of Salo, Finland
Representatives of Skolkovo companies, who took part in this trip, were pleased with the content presented and the final results that were achieved. They mentioned that the contacts arranged for them during the trip met their requirements, and they highly evaluated the work of the organizers – which was reflected in the comments, and in the high average assessment scores, 4 to 5 points, given for all of the above-mentioned items. Trip participants noted that “most of all they liked being able to communicate with professionals in their fields of interest, as well as the professionalism of the organizers and hosts – in both business and cultural areas – who were able to arrange a creative and motivational atmosphere, providing opportunities for finding partners”; “Everything was very well planned, and business-like. (...) There were opportunities for high-level business communications, while at the same time, things were kept simple and accessible.”
The participants were thankful for the “warm atmosphere”, “business spirit and concrete character of the meetings”, “contacts with small and medium sized technology businesses”, “the highest level of organization”, “the right places to visit”, and many other components of this successful business mission.
Cultural program and dinner organized by City of Salo for Skolkovo companies
This trip to Finland turned out to be very useful, in terms of finding new friends and business contacts. In Salo, we were warmly received by the representatives of the leading Finnish companies, who were happy to tell us about their experiences and expressed their willingness to cooperate in the future. Participation in delegations, organized by Skolkovo, presents great opportunities for our company, and serves as a kind of guide to international business.Olga Nikitina, Director of NPP Tenzosensor LLC
This trip was remarkable and beneficial, and I was able to make all the necessary contacts. I also participated in the Slush in Helsinki; however, I especially liked my trip to Salo. Thus, we came to understand the opportunities this city could offer; we were able to meet the mayor of the city and his deputy for development. Based on these contacts, we will build further cooperation in the years to come.Vladimir Kozlov, General Director of Power Semiconductors LLC
A successful and well-organized trip. It is great that we had this opportunity to see the production facilities. There were many productive meetings, and now we are quickly following up on the contacts we developed during this tripAndrey Misyuryayev, Deputy Director of Avtostankoprom LLC
I really liked this trip to Finland, especially the first part of it, the visit to Salo. Why? Because I found it useful to communicate with foreign entrepreneurs, to meet company representatives and learn how we might cooperate in the future, and thus I expanded my horizons. We are now considering the possibility of opening our European office in Finland. I would recommend such trips to everyone, because in this way one can expand his/her horizons, and of course, for companies developing advanced equipment and working on the latest modern technologies, such visits are important in terms of future commercializationIvan Zayev, Project Manager at Kintech Laboratory LLC
Visits to local innovative companies in City of Salo, Finland
Аnna Nikinа Head of Development, International Programs T +7 (495) 967 0148 ext.2491 E an(at)sk.ru
Calendar of international programs: http://international.sk.ru