Nordic startup organisations announce strategic partnership

Late last week, a group of seventeen startup organisations in the Nordics announced they signed a manifesto to form a strategic partnership.

The partnership, which according to a statement is to “creat[e] a channel for strategic cooperation and decision making,” has not been formalised yet, and exactly what shape it will take hasn’t been decided.

The group, collectively known as the Founding Partners of #Nordic Made, includes Icelandic Startups, SUP 46 and other similar organisations from around the Nordics, media like the Nordic Web and Arctic Startups, conferences like Slush, and more.

What are they committing to?

The manifesto states several things:

We agree to make strategic and collective decisions about:
  • International presence
  • Key marketing messages
  • Tangible measurements of success
Founding Partners of #NordicMade commit to:
  • Formalizing a #NordicMade organization.
  • Exploring opportunities for fundraising for a #NordicMade organization.
  • Establish a #NordicMade committee consisting of representatives from every Nordic countries.
  • To maintain transparency in all aspects of operation.
  • Create an open and inclusive community platform.

While not completely clear in the announcement what this means in practical terms, based on a conversation with Salóme Guðmundsdóttir, CEO of Icelandic Startups, I can say it’s the following:

  • The group will look into whether they should formally create an organisation, that has a CEO, a board / committee and more.
  • One of their long-term objectives is to market the Nordics as a collective region. Basically wrapping the activity in the many ecosystems in Scandinavian and Nordic cities under one Nordic brand, to the benefit of all.

This follows a collaboration that has been ongoing between many of these organisations already.