The DEFINE Accelerator, Finland’s first defence technology business accelerator programme, has been launched in Riihimäki. There were a total of 57 applicants from thirteen different countries. The three-month accelerator programme includes 39 intensive training modules as well as weekly one-to-one coaching. The accelerator offers a direct connection to the Finnish Defence Forces and to the sector’s leading actors.

The European defence technology market is growing rapidly: over 2,000 growth companies across Europe, of which more than 140 are in Finland. Growing geopolitical tensions have created urgent demand for defence innovations that can strengthen Europe’s capabilities quickly. The DEFINE Accelerator, coordinated by the City of Riihimäki, is led by the Berlin-based venture capital firm Redstone, which also has offices in Helsinki and Zurich. The first batch of companies to be trained includes both start-ups and growth companies from Finland, Sweden and Germany:

• Atle Defence Technologies
• Foxa
• Lowkey
• Monava
• RAIN
• Refamo
• ReLoc
• Sapper Intelligence
• SeeTrue Technologies
• Tambest
• Tespack
• Viima Aerospace Technologies