The Seed Village program helps growth companies enhance their product development and collaboration with universities. After this autumn, 60 companies have accelerated their R&D activities through the program. In 2024, the upcoming Seed Village will be dedicated to companies specialising in well-being and performance measurement.
The success of a small company depends on various factors, but developing a unique product or service that fits the market is essential. The Seed Village program helps companies grow their businesses by bolstering their research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities. The 2024 Seed Village program theme is Optimal Human Performance and Wellbeing.
Concrete collaboration with the universities
Growth programs in Jyväskylä, or coordinated from there, are carefully designed to meet the diverse needs of startups and growth companies. While the International Venture Academy assesses and improves companies' investment readiness, Seed Village focuses on enhancing innovation, research, and product development. The program aims to contribute to the national goal of increasing RDI investments, targeting 4 % of Finland's GDP by 2030.
Most importantly, Seed Village facilitates open collaboration between companies and universities. Jyväskylä – where you can find an extensive range of research and development expertise in different industries – is, for example, Finland's top research and competence centre in well-being and performance.
"In Seed Village, companies interact and network directly with researchers and experts in their field. It is important that the collaboration leads to tangible results during the program, helping companies succeed," says Program Manager Nina Rautiainen from Jyväskylä Business Development Services.
The Seed Village program is conducted under Kasvu Open and involves the City of Jyväskylä, the University of Jyväskylä, and the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Boost already for dozens of growth companies
The Seed Village program, which will be held from September 10 to November 19, is the sixth of its kind. With the upcoming program included, around 60 companies have participated in the fee-free program since 2021.
"We have participated in several growth programs, but Seed Village is definitely one of the most focused and effective programs we've been part of." – Laura Andelin, ONIT Sport
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The program's themes and focuses vary. Increasingly, participating companies are united not only by the theme but also by their reliance on digitalisation or data and their scalability to global markets.
The upcoming program has selected ten promising growth companies from various parts of Finland in the wellbeing and performance sectors: Benete (Turku), Bluumo (Espoo), Coach4Pro (Espoo), eLive Ecosystem (Savonlinna), HTM Solutions (Espoo), Moventrac (Oulu), Neurocarrier (Helsinki), Shivers (Kuusamo), TE3 (Porvoo), and Unison Sense Coaching (Lahti).
Learn more about the Seed Village program on the Kasvu Open website.
