ClimateLaunchpad's months of sparring culminated in an exciting final

The world's largest green business ideas competition ClimateLaunchpad's months-long Finnish contribution culminated in the final on Wednesday, August 26, where the winning Conquistador, Smartphones4good and SoilWatch will continue their journey to the international arenas in September.

The judges of the competition were Markku Anttonen, Research Director of Laurea University of Applied Sciences, and Eero Heikkinen, a system designer and founding member of the renowned Kamupak.

Timo-Pekka Uotila, Haaga-Helia's contact manager, and Hannes Jesar, Metropolia's project manager, were responsible for coaching and sparring the teams.

The event was hosted by Canadian-based service design veteran Pamela Spokes, whose positive and fair attitude captured the audience, the jury and competitors.

A TOTAL of six great teams competed in the final of ClimateLaunchpad's Finnish section, whose highly honed and inventive concepts exceeded even the expectations of an experienced jury.

There were inspiring concepts aimed at replacing traditional glass and plastic bottles, revolutionizing 3D printing, and more humane and energy-saving image service.

- Bloft Design Lab, Conquistador, Photorealis, Smartphones4good, Soilwatch and Verre La Vie came prepared for the competition and it was also reflected in the presented paces, says Hanna Kangas, Haaga-Helia's project manager, who acted as the competition coordinator.

The concepts of Conquistador, Smartphones4good and SoilWork, which advanced in the competition, were related to the development of urban farming, the recycling of old smartphones and the monitoring of soil CO2 emissions using satellite technology.

According to the judges Markku Anttonen and Eero Heikkinen, these three ideas were most related to the categories of the competition.

- Each of the advanced concepts had enormous growth potential. They are fresh perspectives on a growing market, Heikkinen says.

CLIMATELAUNCHPAD is the world’s largest and best-known competition for green business ideas, aiming to find new and sustainable solutions to climate change. This year’s competition themes include urban solutions, the circular economy, sustainable mobility, clean energy, food production, and adaptation and resilience.

For the third time, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences is coordinating the Finnish part of the ClimateLaunchpad business idea competition, which was organized this year in cooperation with Laurea and Metropolia Polytechnics (3AMK).

Conquistador, Smartphones4good and SoilWork, selected for Finland's share, will advance to the European competition in September. From there, the journey can continue to the global finals, which is a great place not only to network but also to seek funding.

In addition to money and reputation, the concepts that will win and succeed in the global final will have a place at the EIT-KIC Accelerator in Amsterdam, where they will be able to refine their ideas even further.

The best-known success stories of the Nordic ClimateLaunchpad include Aqua Robur, Blue Lobster, Mimbly, Modviro, Rens, SolarSack and Solfoil.