Each November, Helsinki attracts companies, founders and investors from all over the world to Slush, one of the largest startup events in the Nordic countries. More and more Japanese companies are participating and finding opportunities at the conference through events such as networking with potential partners for business and innovation. One of the organisations that keeps returning to the conference is Fukuoka City. As a “Startup City”, the city government is actively engaged in international activities to develop the startup ecosystem. These activities include building bridges to ecosystems in other countries, also in Finland and its capital, and helping startups and innovation cross over. In this article, Helsinki Partners interviews their representative, who shares reasons for the city’s continued participation since 2016 and his personal impressions after having joined Slush for the first time. The article【インタビュー】北欧発スタートアップイベントSlushで見たヘルシンキの魅力 (The Charm of Helsinki as seen at Slush, a Nordic startup event) was produced in collaboration between the Fukuoka City Government and Helsinki Partners. Both are public organisations dedicated to supporting international business in their respective cities.

Source: Helsinki Partners