Startups are a key part of the vitality and innovation capacity of Helsinki. A strong startup ecosystem acts as a catalyst to promote the export of Finnish know-how to the world. The City of Helsinki supports startup companies and wants to reliably measure their development. The survey commissioned by the City marks the launch of a new monitoring model that will provide comparable data on an annual basis and help target measures more effectively.
“Helsinki's startup scene is a major employer and also generates much-needed innovations with the potential to become new economic drivers for Finland. New and former startup companies in Helsinki invest hundreds of millions of euros in research and development each year. In 2023, the amount was as high as €350 million. This contributes to our objective of being an internationally competitive and sustainably developing city where new ideas and talent can grow and thrive,” says Director of Economic Development Marja-Leena Rinkineva from the City of Helsinki.
What does the survey say about the startup ecosystem in Helsinki?
According to the Finnish Startup Community, there are approximately 1,550 current and former startup companies in Helsinki. A significant proportion of these, 840, are early-stage startups. The figure only includes startups that have already been formally established.
Helsinki’s current and former startups employ a total of 22,300 people and had a combined turnover of €7.14 billion in 2023. The combined turnover of early-stage start-ups was approximately €480 million, reflecting the growth potential of early-stage companies. According to the survey, Helsinki is home to a significant proportion of the current and former startups operating in Finland, namely 42%.
Startups with a turnover of less than one million euros employ nearly 3,000 people in Helsinki. Elsewhere in Finland, startups of a similar size employ a total of approximately 4,000 people. Examined in relation to the population, these figures highlight how concentrated early-stage startups are in Helsinki.
Large startups with a turnover of more than 10 million euros employ 11,244 people in Helsinki, which is more than the total number of people employed by startups in the rest of Finland. This suggests that Helsinki plays a key role particularly in the scaling-up phase of companies. The figures also suggest that larger startups have a tendency to move to Helsinki, for example for funding.
“Startups are the growth driver of the Finnish economy. Helsinki, where a large proportion of our startups are located, offers a unique ecosystem for companies, investors and talent. And now, for the first time, we have precise figures that show the importance of this in practice,” says CEO of the Finnish Startup Community Riikka Pakarinen.
Helsinki is characterised by research and development
Current and former startups operating in Helsinki invested €345 million in research and development in 2023. The companies employed approximately 3,000 researchers, more than 10% of whom hold a PhD.
“According to the results, the startup scene in Helsinki is research-intensive, which is likely explained by its connections to local universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes,” says Chief Economist of the Finnish Startup Community Youssef Zad.
Helsinki is the startup capital of Finland
The number of people employed by startups in Helsinki has grown rapidly since 2005, when they had approximately 1,200 employees, with the figure now standing at over 22,000.
According to the survey carried out by the Finnish Startup Community, startup activity has followed a similar growth trend across Finland. However, Helsinki stands out especially in terms of startups that are in their early and scaling-up phases. Operating in the capital provides a favourable environment for startup entrepreneurs: there is talent available, investors and customers are close by and local networks are dense and accessible. A concrete example of this is Maria01, the leading startup hub in Northern Europe.
Survey to provide annual data to inform decision-making
The monitoring model developed by the Finnish Startup Community is based on advanced research data and will provide an annually updated view of the startup scene in Helsinki.
“This first report marks the launch of the long-term collaboration between the City of Helsinki and the Finnish Startup Community. The results of this collaboration will help us more effectively target the City's measures, which include targeted advice for companies that are just starting out, business incubators, startup coaching, piloting opportunities, strengthening investor relations and improving access to talent,” Rinkineva continues.
The survey makes use of a startup list curated by the Finnish Startup Community and other ecosystem actors, along with extensive register data from Statistics Finland. The latest figures are for 2023. The survey was carried out by the Finnish Startup Community.
