After two years, the Nordic Scalers pilot came to an end in 2019. The next step has been to share the learnings, evaluate the pilot and see how the Nordics could support scale-ups in the coming years. The result is here, we are now launching the second phase of the popular initiative.
Launching a call to build on the success of the Nordic Scalers pilot
With the support from the five innovation agencies in the Nordics, Nordic Innovation is now launching a new Nordic Scalers call for project outlines. The call will be divided into two phases. In stage 1 we will fund the development of up to seven Nordic projects supporting Nordic scale-ups in managing and accelerating their growth. The funding (NOK 200 000 per project) can be used for building Nordic partnerships and/or developing the concept and the business model.
22 September 11.00 - 12.30 CEST, Nordic Innovation will host a webinar on the call for project outlines.
In stage 2 we will select up to five Nordic consortia who will operate under the Nordic Scalers brand in the period 2021-23. A separate application process will be set up for this stage and will launch by the end of 2020.
The purpose of the call is to establish a Nordic Scalers community to support Nordic scale-ups accelerate and manage their growth. Nordic Scalers will be launched in March 2021 and run for 2 years.
Facts about scale-ups in the Nordics
There were 6350 scale-ups in the Nordic region in 2017.
Scale-ups constituted 0.4% of all enterprises in the Nordic region,
but they employed 549.500, a growth rate of 85% from 2014 to 2017.
Nordic Scale-ups created 72,500 jobs in 2017.
Background for the Nordic Scalers initiative
The Nordic countries lag the leading countries in the extent to which they scale-up, with research suggesting that many of the companies have stagnant growth despite their best aspirations. One of the differences compared to the leading ecosystems is the size. Combined, the Nordic countries are big enough to produce quality scale-ups with the desired opportunities for growth. This is exactly what Nordic Innovation wants to tap into with the Nordic Scalers initiative. The vision is to make the Nordics the leading region in the World not only for starting up, but also scaling up businesses.
Read the evaluation of the Nordic Scalers pilot here.
By supporting Nordic scale-ups, Nordic Innovation aims to address the perceived gaps in the Nordic entrepreneurship ecosystem:
- Insufficient support system for scale-ups and mature small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with high growth ambitions.
- Inadequate experience and competence base in high growth venturing.
- A low number of scale-ups.
- A low level of scaleup community building and cross-border collaboration in the Nordic region.
