Final of Business in Biotechnology and Circular Economy acceleration program

Auditory: “startups”, business experts from Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd, XAMK and ITMO and project teams of Business in Biotechnology and Circular Economy project

Moderators: Alexander Ostroukhov and Niko Arola

Goal: Pitching ideas to auditory in English and get feedback and comments from business experts

Mentors from Finland:

Marjo Niittuaho-Nastolin, Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd.

Marjo Niittuaho-Nastolin has over 15 years of experience in developing SME activities from different perspectives. She has been involved in helping over 100 startup companies and in corporate strategy and development work, including financial planning and execution. Customers represent a wide range of industries but all have had a common desire, desire to develop and grow. She joined FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network) over 5 years ago and she is FiBAN’s regional business angel in Mikkeli.

Outside the FiBAN activities you’ll most probably find her in a cottage in Puumala or boating in lake Saimaa.

At the moment, she is eager about establishing a venture capital fund in South Savo. The fund is intended for early-stage growth companies and hopefully the fund will start operations this autumn. The implementation of this project has taken approximately two years.

Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjoniittuahonastolin-547b423/

Panu Jouhkimo, Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd.

Panu Jouhkimo is a business developer with 7 years of experience in initiating and executing regional, national and international cooperation projects mainly regarding green technologies. In Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd. Panu is responsible for coordinating the EcoSairila development platform and industrial area for circular economy, promoting and connecting the green technology sector to networks, projects and opportunities nationally and internationally. Panu has a MSc Eng degree in Industrial Management and BEng degree in Environmental Engineering. (www.linkedin.com/in/panu-jouhkimo-4b157233).

Agenda:

Opening of the pitching session, introducing of the business experts

7 teams are pitching

Ending words and next steps

A story

28, October will be held online the final presentation of the project Business in Biotechnology and Circular Economy acceleration program.

                             In November, 2019 we announced the Interuniversity competition of research and innovation projects Business in Biotechnology and Circular Economy. We achieved more than 60 applications into 6 areas: Food technology, Agro-industrial complex technologies, Energy-saving technologies, Circular economy technologies, Biotechnologies for Healthcare, IT for Biotechnologies and Circular economy.

                             In April, 2020 there were 14 finalists of the competition who started the Acceleration program in a distance. Within 7 months they promote and improve their projects, speak with consumers and experts, research the market and tested their projects.

                             28th of October, 7 projects who successfully finished the acceleration program, will present their projects to Russian and Finish experts – representatives of innovation ecosystems of Finland and Russia.

                             List of the project finalists:

  • The use of alternative energy sources in the system electric drive of agricultural machines
  • Deep processing of wheat varieties Leningradskaya in the North-West region
  • Smart Area
  • Development of technology for processing hogweed to obtain bioethanol
  • Technology of bio-fermentation of poultry waste
  • Natural immunostimulatory additives based on beta-glucans in beekeeping, their effect on the survival of bees and the quality of honey
  • Activators of seed germination and plant growth based on hogweed
  • Technology for obtaining a complex dietary supplement with a high content of resveratol and zinc from grape pomace and inactivated yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
  • Development of technology for the production and use of probiotic culture S. Boulardii