Matchmaking event in Tornio/Haparanda/Rovaniemi

Cooperation across the borders

The Young Innovative Entrepreneurs (YIE) is a cooperation project in Barents region. It’s objective is to support innovative entrepreneurship and young entrepreneurs, as well as develop new business ideas, entrepreneurial mindset and cooperation across borders. A region wide support system will enhance the development and implementation of innovative business ideas across the borders. 

The project manager of YIE Saila-Inkeri Vaara emphasizes that the main idea is to give young entrepreneurs better chances to network with each other and meet their future clients, business partners or even business associates.
— This project enables entrepreneurs to internationalize and also to see and experience what kind of people, customs and business activity there is to find in other countries of Barents region.

Young Innovative Entrepreneurs organized an international matchmaking event in the Tornio-Haparanda-Rovaniemi region from the 14th to 17th of November 2012. The objective of this first Matchmaking event was to give the participants an opportunity to innovate and network internationally and thereby create cooperation across the borders. The event was attended by more than 100 young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial-minded students from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia.

The project manager Saila-Inkeri Vaara (photo: Jaakko Lohiniva).

Success stories from the Barents region

The event kicked off on Wednesday evening 14.11. with a welcoming dinner at the Tornio City Hotel. The actual Matchmaking seminar was held on Thursday 15.11. in Sverigefinska folkhögskolan’s atmospheric spaces in Haparanda, Sweden.

 Leena Alalääkkölä, the Dean of Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences (in the field of business and culture) welcomed the seminar participants to the event and predicted the event to be a great experience for everyone. The host of the event Daniel Muotka (Träningsbyrån, Luleå) presented YIE’s predecessor Young Entrepreneurs in the Barents project, in which he worked as a project manager. After this, YIE’s Project Manager Saila-Inkeri Vaara presented the project and purpose of the Matchmaking event to the participants.

On Friday 16.11. the seminar participants were transferred to Rovaniemi where the second day of Matchmaking event was held in. The host Juha Eskelinen (Tivoli, and Cafe & Bar 21, Rovaniemi) welcomed the participants to the Rantavitikka campus of Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences. Then the Director of Lapland Chamber of Commerce, Timo Rautajoki, introduced business and innovation opportunities in the Barents region.

In both Haparanda and Rovaniemi Matchmaking event’s participants also got to hear some inspiring success stories from young entrepreneurs of the Barents region.

Ramsalt Lab, Norwegian success story (photo: Jaakko Lohiniva).

In Haparanda Elina Stoor from iLme Innorooms (Tornio, Finland) presented her company’s innovative ways to organize showrooms and events. Norwegian success story was showcased by Yngve W. Bergheim, Joakim Andrè and Martin Normann Lund from Ramsalt Lab (Tromsø) which has become one of Norway’s leading Drupal-companies in only few years and is investing more in expanding it’s international network in the future. Ramsalt Lab’s representantives had come to Matchmaking event to meet with potential co-operation partners from different industries. Finally, Sanna Hänninen from NH Norrbotten (Haparanda, Sweden) shared her business story of making dreams come true as she has established a career working with something she loves, horses. Her business started as a youth company during upper secondary school but was later officially registered. Hänninen reminded the audience to always pursue their dreams and not settle for less.


In Rovaniemi innovative success story from Finland was presented by Reijo Koivula from Lappset Group Ltd. The company was established in 1970 so the success story has continued for more than 40 years. Koivula highlighted the importance of selling the solution for customers’ problems, not only products. In the best case product sales becomes customer intimacy, product marketing becomes brand marketing, products are turned into consepts and maintenance into services. Finally, the room was filled with laughter when Koivula played an innovative presentation video in which Lappset Group’s history was fast forwarded from one decade to another in the spirit of current movies from Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings. Also, web designer Dennis Kreminskiy (profitum.ru, Murmansk, Russia) shared his own experiences of entrepreneurship. He stressed that the keys to achieving success in business are particularly reliable partners and good reputation.

The power of international cooperation

However, Matchmaking event wasn’t all about listening existing success stories but participants had the opportunity to create a foundation for their own success stories in workshops. The participants were divided into nine groups in Haparanda. The first day’s agenda was getting to know other members of the group and co-create a small-scale innovative business idea.

Facilitators are ready for grouping (photo: Jaakko Lohiniva).

On the next day in Rovaniemi the workshop activities continued with the same groups. This time the assignment was to discuss what kind of support there is for entrepreneurs at this moment and what kind of support is still needed in addition to existing ones. The results of the workshop conversations will be utilized directly as a part of planning  and developing of InnoBarentsLab, Innovative Business Services project established within the YIE project.
— The second day in Rovaniemi seems to be very important for further project implementation as the mind maps and posters produced by the groups will give a clear idea of what the InnoLabs should be like, one of the facilitators Nina Ershova emphasizes.

Workshop in Haparanda.

The facilitators of the workshop groups were very pleased with the discussion and new, innovative and diverse ideas from every group. In particular, multi-culturalism in groups turned out to be a special richness.

Anzelika Krastina pinpoints that innovative basis created and atmosphere that gives a freedom for ideas, with no limitations for crazy ideas.
— Positivity and open minds were the keys. Cross-cultural dialog was serving as a source for innovativity.

Iikka Rahkonen reminds also that cross-cultural approach served innovative activity and expanded people’s points of viewes.
— I think my group exploited their different kinds of competences. It was good to realize that great innovations can be needed several types of competences.

Morten Brugård also sees that in his group the cross-cultural aspect created a foundation for working.
— The most important was learning about different ways of seeing things in different cultures.

Krastina as well stresses that in brainstorming people got to see things from different angles and sharing opinions and thoughts is what makes it valuable.

Workshop in Rovaniemi (photo: Annett Pée).

— In their small businesses entrepreneurs are on their own, but here they got to hear what other people think and thus widen their own perspective. And certainly via workshops they managed to reinforce their new network.

For Tuija Kuisma it was especially impressive that the students in the group realized that they are not alone with their business ideas and they are able to find help.
— It was also great that the young entrepreneurs in our group were enthusiastic about their businesses and ready to tell how they started and so on. They also tried to find ways to help each other although they were from different business branch.

Ekaterina Tamistova is also happy as a facilitator that the participants had a chance to meet like-minded people.
— That’s very supporting if you want to start something new or continue what you are doing. The workshops were undoubtedly beneficial for all the people involved because everyone learned new things and, perhaps, got an insight or found a business partner.

Support for future success stories

The workshop results of the YIE’s Matchmaking event were versatile and beneficial for future project

Workshop in Rovaniemi (photo: Annett Pée).

operations. The participants seemed also pleased with the fact that they were directly consulted concerning the potential support networks and needs. After all, they are the ones who most likely will be utilizing these support systems in the future.

Numerous good ideas and suggestions were introduced while the groups considered different support networks. Krastina mentions for example that the participants suggested to create InnoBarentsLab as a Business Mall, an open space, physical and virtual, where young entrepreneurs can meet any time and where they would get needed help any time at the spot or online. Online platforms would also facilitate networking among young entrepreneurs in the Barents region, where distances are long.



Another suggestion was that there should be another event, where the participants could really work in the workshop to design together and plan in detail their cross-border business projects. Two days wasn’t enough to get plans and networks deep enough.
— There are just few from more that 100 new ideas. All of them were “most important”, Krastina points out.

So this first Matchmaking event of Young Innovative Entrepreneurs project was overall very successful. In addition, it was a great opportunity to showcase cross-border cooperation with

The atmosphere wasn't too serious (photo: Annett Pée).

countries and organizations. The event was organized in cooperation with Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences, Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences and Högskoleförbundet Östra Norrbotten. All the ten partners of YIE project were involved in organizations from the starting point and they were all responsible of arrangements of the participants of their own countries.

The project manager of YIE Saila-Inkeri Vaara reminds that the collaboration between all the ten partners of the project was crucial for the event to turn out as successful as it was. Close cooperation also made it possible that there were a great amount of participants from every country.
— In particular, this was a successful demonstration of the teamwork between Kemi-Tornio and Rovaniemi Universities of Applied Sciences. Although the distance between us is more than 100 kilmotres, the collaboration and practical arrangements worked out nicely and naturally, Vaara praises.

Thank You everyone, organizers and participants, who where a part of making this first Matchmaking event successful and memorable!

From this perspective, little by little we can start waiting for YIE’s next Matchmaking event which will be held in spring 2013 in Russia, Murmansk. See You all there!

The seminar ended with a benchmarking trip to Santa Claus Village (photo: Santa's Little helper?).