Maria 01 saw startups raise twice as much funding in 2020

Startups at Maria 01 completed a total of 32 funding rounds and raised 348 million euros in 2020, representing increases of 28 per cent and 102 per cent, respectively. Almost a half of the funding was raised by active domestic members and 38 per cent by members with a headquarters outside Finland.

The startups also created 240 new jobs, an increase of 80 per cent from the previous year, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Ville Simola, the chief executive of Maria 01, viewed in a press release that the funding and recruitment metrics are an indication of the innovativeness and resilience demonstrated by the startup scene in the face of the challenges and uncertainty presented by 2020.

“It has been amazing to see how the startup scene has shown […] steady resilience, the ability to innovate and pivot to a new era of growth,” he stated.

Maria 01 also registered an 18-per cent uptick in membership applications.

The report by the not-for-profit startup campus includes an analysis of the net impact the members had on society, public health, the environment, and knowledge creation and distribution. Conducted with the help of The Upright Project, the analysis identified job creation relative to revenue as the startups’ single most significant contribution to society.

Maria 01 also drew attention to its effort to foster diversity and inclusion, highlighting that 27 of its 175 members are led by women and 23 have headquarters outside Finland.

“Our vision is to become the largest and most impactful startup campus in Europe by 2026,” declared Simola. “The way forward to drive a new narrative around impact and startups as forces to lift economies is to bring these numbers to the spotlight and show the world how startup communities thrive.”