PARTNERS: Turku
Turku Startup Hub has been established in the Turku region, alongside the launch of early-stage funds and accelerator programmes. Their shared goal is to speed up the commercialisation of research-based innovations and support the international growth of startup companies. A dense cluster of startups and research activity is taking shape in the campus area of Turku’s higher education institutions.
The conditions for startup growth are being strengthened in the Turku region in a determined and systematic manner. The City of Turku has made a strategic decision to invest in the long-term development of the startup ecosystem and, earlier this year, launched, among other initiatives, a €23 million growth fund. The fund aims to attract international venture capital to the region and connect local startups with broader networks and global markets.
The Turku Startup Hub network, founded by Business Turku earlier in 2026, serves as a practical tool for supporting growth. Through the Hub, startups receive growth mentoring, support for commercialising research, connections to investors—such as through the FiBAN angel investor network—opportunities for international networking, and valuable peer support from fellow entrepreneurs. Various accelerator programmes further strengthen startups’ readiness for international expansion.
The goal is to increase the number of startup companies in the region from the current 110 to 250 by the end of the decade. “Our ambition is that by 2030, Turku will be known as the city where companies are created from research faster than anywhere else in Finland”, says Jussi Pyysalo, Turku Startup Hub Founder.
One of the growing focus areas of the Turku region’s startup ecosystem is the blue economy, where business and innovation are aimed at improving the state of marine and aquatic environments. The growth of startups in the sector is supported by A’Pelago, the leading blue economy ecosystem in the Baltic Sea region, as well as the Redstone Blue Fund I, a venture capital fund established in Turku.
The Redstone Blue Fund is the Turku region’s first international venture capital fund and also the first fund in the Baltic Sea region dedicated exclusively to the blue economy. The fund’s investment activities are scheduled to begin later this year. Both A’Pelago and the Redstone Blue Fund are located at the Blue Economy Centre in the Astra building of Åbo Akademi.
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The material on this page has been shortened from the original article posted by Business Turku on their site. Check the original piece HERE.