International Venture Academy 2025 kicks off with 9 bold start-ups

What happens when you bring together top European mentors, international investors, and 10 ambitious start-ups? You get International Venture Academy 2025 – a unique growth program supporting start-up companies on their journey to improve investment readiness and enter new markets. This year we will have amazing start-ups from four different countries.

Welcome on board: 

✨ Blocksport

✨ Coeur-Net 

✨ Coldins Oy 

✨ EOD 

✨ Graani 

✨IDiSS 

✨ Lamit Oy 

✨ RSD  

✨ Scorestars 

International Venture Academy Bootcamp will take place from May 19th to May 22nd. During the four-day bootcamp the selected companies will receive tailored mentoring, peer support and hands-on preparation for pitching to investors. Companies will be working for example on their blue ocean and go-to-market strategies, finances and strategy framework – and crafting a killer pitch.  

International Venture Academy will culminate in pitching finals for investors 22nd May. Each start-up will present their business idea to the jury. The top two companies will be awarded tickets to the Business Rally Investor Day in July 2025 – an exclusive event co-organized with Jyväskylä Business Development Services, EBAN, FiBAN, and the Central Finland Mobility Foundation (Cefmof). This event is free for everyone, please register here to meet the innovative IVA start-ups at the Jyväskylä Startup Factory!  

You're also welcome to join the afterwork event held on the evening of the first day of the bootcamp. During the event, the mentors will introduce themselves to the audience, and you'll also have the chance to meet this year's IVA companies. You can register for the afterwork event here. 

This year, the participating start-ups will benefit from the guidance of these amazing mentors: 

• Jean-Louis Brelet 

• Audra Elena Shallal 

• Marcel Dridje 

• Nina Rautiainen 

International Venture Academy jury includes: 

• • Sampsa Laine
  • Svein-Erik Sogn 
  • Jarkko Kosonen

The programme is part of Jyväskylä's innovation ecosytem work. The innovation ecosystem work is based on an agreement between the City of Jyväskylä and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and is funded by the Regional Council of Central Finland (ERDF).