Higher education institutions in Vaasa join forces to support future entrepreneurs
The Vaasa Consortium of Higher Education is a network consisting of Hanken School of Economics, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK), Novia University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, University of Helsinki Faculty of Law and University of Vaasa. The main purpose of the entrepreneurial co-operation is to support the development and growth of start-ups and to promote an entrepreneurial mindset. This is done through incubation and acceleration programmes, networking support and a variety of events such as hackathons, seminars and workshops.
“Ostrobothnia is one of the best regions to start a business in, despite not being a metropolis. There are many organisations that support entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education starts already in preschool. The threshold for seeking help is low, so it's easy for entrepreneurs to get support and advice”, says Ingves.
She mentions that the co-operation has led to significantly more interest from external financiers looking for start-ups and other exciting ideas to invest in.
“By broadening our activities, we have also broadened the networks of the aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Joint start-up space
In October 2024, the university consortium opened a joint start-up space in the University of Vaasa's Fabriikki building for all students interested in entrepreneurship. The space has been funded by the City of Vaasa Jubilee Fund.
“It is important that students from different backgrounds have a physical space where they can meet and where we can support the development and growth of start-ups. The space brings together everyone from people who are curious about starting their own business to established entrepreneurs who meet their customers there,” says Ingves.
She points out that the study years are a perfect time to explore different career options.
“In this community, you can do that in a safe environment with support and mentors around you. It's a good way to test your ideas and explore your entrepreneurial side without necessarily having to start your own business. Entrepreneurial skills are valuable no matter what career path you choose in the future.”
Valuable help and feedback
One of those who has benefited from the universities' start-up project is Tim Teirfolk. Teirfolk, who is in his fifth year of studying management and organisation at Hanken in Vaasa, took part in the Sprout pitch event. Together with Novia student Oscar Gustafsson, he has a start-up company called Fischi and at the pitch event they developed the idea of the app Fides, which was launched in August 2024. The business idea is to collect different lunch restaurants' loyalty cards and other benefits in one place.
“You can have dozens of cards offering, for example, every tenth lunch for free in your wallet and they are easy to forget or lose. Younger generations often don't even use a wallet but have everything in their phone. So, we developed an app where you can get coupons and benefits from different restaurants.”
Teirfolk says the app is primarily aimed at individual restaurants or smaller restaurant chains.
“Chains such as McDonald’s and Subway have their own apps and memberships, but for smaller operators it can be expensive to develop something similar. Fides is a platform where these restaurants can have their own memberships and then users can choose which restaurants they want to join.”
At the moment, about twenty Vasa restaurants have joined the app, including student restaurants that provide information about the lunch of the day but do not offer different benefits. The next step is to expand to other cities in Ostrobothnia.
Teirfolk, a self-taught programmer and app developer, chose to study at Hanken to complement his technology skills.
“I wanted to combine my technology background with studies in management and entrepreneurship. The studies pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
Teirfolk is pleased that the universities in Vaasa are collaborating on start-up issues. He emphasises the valuable help and feedback he received from mentors and other contacts at the Sprout pitch event.
“Among other things, we were encouraged to ask the restaurants what they wanted from an app like Fides, so we booked a lot of meetings with restaurants in the area. It was also easier later when we had our app to reach out to the contacts we had already met.”
Text: Jessica Gustafsson
Photo: Hendrik Morkel and private