Set your course for Turku and Å pitch in August! Last year, we hosted the first Å Pitch – pitching competition on the River Aura. This August we will do it again as a side-event of the Shift Business Festival and we plan on making this year’s event even more successful than the first one.
Unique venue, unique focus
We intend this event to be unique both in its venue as well as its focus. When it comes to the venue, Å Pitch will be held on the Jakke River Ferry that will sail up and down the Aura river for the duration of the competition. As for the unique focus of the event, we will make Å Pitch the first Nordic pitching event under the slogan “do good, do business”. This means we are looking for startups centered around ethical and sustainable business that provide solutions that “do good”, be it combating climate change, fostering sustainable development, peace tech, water, waste and food solutions, trustworthy AI, etc. Of course, the businesses also need to “do business” and have solid business plans.
Matchmaking and seminar
The event starts with two tracks.
The 1st Track is a seminar where NGOs give presentations on how businesses can cooperate with them. Furthermore, support organisations like Business Finland share how they can support companies in entering these, often challenging, markets.
The 2nd Track is a matchmaking event where companies, investors and potential clients can arrange for 15 minute 1-to-1 meetings. There is also an opportunity for startups that are not in the competition to pitch their solutions to the investors, as well as for the investors to reverse pitch for the startups.
Startup competition on the River Aura
A dozen exciting startups will be pitching their ideas on Jakke River Ferry. We will have participants from several countries (FIN, SWE, EE, PL) and 12 high quality start-ups pitching their ideas for 3 minutes each. The audience will mainly consists of investors, potential customers, and SME support organisations.
We will be sailing back and forth the Aura river in the heart of Turku, announcing the winner at the end of the trip. Three best pitches will sail away with prizes.
Criteria for pitching startups:
• Your business “does good”, meaning it provides social, technological or ecological solutions that help to make the world a better place
• You have a scalable business model
• You have your first customers
• You have a top-notch pitch, in English
How to Chart Your Course from Here?
• Pitching competition: startups looking to enter the competition please contact Johanna.Puhtila@turkubusinessregion.com
• Seminar: Want to give a presentation at the seminar? Please contact Sami.Uusitalo@turkubusinessregion.com
More information and registration: https://apitch.b2match.io/
