From 44 nominations last year to 140 nominations this year the interest for highlighting scaleups is growing. The Icelandic company Kerecis won the award and the companies Einride, Gelato and IQM got special recognitions.
"It has been a long journey and we are happy to be here tonight. First, it is a celebration for all our patients and all the people we have saved from amputations, and it is also a celebration for my small hometown of Isafjordur where we created jobs and prosperity,” says Fertram Sigurjonsson, Founder and CEO of Kerecis
One of Europe's fastest growing companies
The jury's reasoning for awarding Kerecis:
“The decision was unanimous. The company excelled in all categories. The company has been named as one of Europe’s fastest growing companies by Financial Times in 2023. In 2022, the company became EBITDA profitable and closed the year with $74M in sales. As an innovative and growing biotech company, it has the ability to deliver enduring impact. The company is working with a real and important problem in healthcare field. The company is using a by-product that otherwise would not be used or would be a waste product. Kerecis develops, manufactures, and sells patented fish-skin products to heal human wounds and tissue-damage. The market potential for its current products is more than $10 billion. The company has implemented a broad ESG program and has an equal number of males and females in the company with a certified equal pay program.
The company is a prime example of a scaleup that is i) built on the heritage of Iceland (fish); ii) focuses on a very high value-added product and ii) due to a limited home market and talent base has been forced to be creative in their hiring and go-to-market from day one”.
The Swedish company Einride got aspecial recognition for green innovation, with the jury’s reasoning; The company builds solutions that are completely new to the world by rethinking how the world moves goods.
The Norwegian company Gelato got a special recognition for impact, with the jury’s reasoning; A software company that enables responsible, local, on-demand production. By producing responsibly when and where a product is needed, waste and emissions are reduced dramatically.
The Finnish company IQM got a special recognition for pioneering with the jury’s reasoning; This deep-tech company has started a new branch of industry as part of 4th industrial revolution working for the benefit of the humankind.
“With the prize we want to celebrate founders and leaders of Nordic high growth companies and show that a modern Nordic scaleup company today concentrates on more than growth. The criterion was, innovativeness, growth and business excellence global reach, sustainability, company culture. We are proud of the high number of nominations, and they all showed a high quality, but the end the jury was unanimous that Kerecis was this year’s winner”, says Svein Berg, Managing Director at Nordic Innovation.
The jury and eligibility criteria
This years jury consisted of:
- Anne - Louise Thon Jensen, Partner, and Co-Founder, SDG Invest and Vår Ventures
- Javad Mushtaq, Deputy CEO / Managing Director, EAT Foundation, CEO of MAK, and Managing Partner, WE& Capital
- Nora Bavery, General partner, Unconventional Ventures
- Svein Berg, Svein Berg, Managing Director, Nordic Innovation
- Juha Lindfors, Partner Lifeline Ventures
Eligibility criteria was that the company is registered in one of the Nordic countries, have an annual revenue at minimum of 2M€, personnel of at least 10 people and Annual growth figures of at least 20% in the past 3 years.
Nordic Scaleup Awards: "A proof of concept"
Nordic Scaleup Summit and Nordic Scaleup Awards is the premier gathering of leading entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers from the Nordic countries. The aim of the award is to recognise Nordic high-growth companies and entrepreneurs that run them, highlight their success stories and impact on the Nordic economy and society.
It was the second time that we celebrated Nordic scaleups in Stockholm. Last year’s winners were Polarium Energy Solutions from Sweden and Aiven from Finland while Controlant from Iceland got a special recognition. The three companies participated in this years Nordic Scaleup Summit and talked about the impact the prize has had on their company growth journey during the past one year.
To win the Nordic Scaleup Awards contributes to increased visibility, prestige and exposure to the company.
“The Nordic Scaleup Awards has not only lifted internal employee pride but also contributed to additional recognition among external stakeholders including customers which we are grateful for. It is a real proof of concept to have an organization of such high caliber like Nordic Scaleup Awards to recognize the fast growing, entrepreneurial journey that Polarium is on in our mission to unlock endless energy”, said Maria Gylldorf from Polarium Energy Solutions in Nordic Scaleup Awards: an integrated part of the Nordic Scaleup Ecosystem.
Background
Nordic Scaleup Awards took place after the Nordic Scaleup Summit. Both events are organized by Nordic Innovation and Dagens Industri and funded under the Nordics Scalers special initiative.
