Susicorn Startup Competition 2026

With more than €200 million in startup exits, the Joensuu region stands as Finland’s easiest city for business: a luminous launchpad for bold founders aiming for the big breakthrough.

All competitors have the opportunity to join the Startup Joensuu hub and access its services. Through Startup Joensuu, one of Finland’s most dynamic startup hubs, competitors join a vibrant and collaborative network of entrepreneurs, investors, and partners, connecting with over 70 innovation-driven companies, universities, and world-leading innovation hubs opening national and international pathways for visibility, collaboration, funding, and global growth:

• Photonics Joensuu – Joensuu is a leading European photonics hub, where research, development, education, business, and innovation come together
• Forest Joensuu – digital forestry and circular bioeconomy leadership
• Energy Joensuu – renewable and hydrogen-driven clean energy innovation
• Borderland Europe – digital border security and dual-use technologies
• Outokumpu Mining Hub – sustainable mining, side-stream utilization, and green process innovations
• ICT Hub Joensuu – industrial software and digital transformation excellence.

Rooted in the Luminous theme of SOHJO Business Event 2026, the competition focuses on Joensuu’s top industries – world-class expertise in photonics, forest bioeconomy, ICT, and renewable energy – while welcoming all business ideas that merge creativity, tech-driven thinking, and cross-disciplinary innovation. 

Read more about the SOHJO Business Event

We’re looking for innovative products, services, and tech-driven solutions, whether early-stage ideas, startups, spinoffs, research-based projects, or student innovations, that can grow and scale from the Joensuu region to the world!  

We’re especially interested in ventures that illuminate new business in: 

• Sustainable Resource Solutions and Circular-Based Business
  (forest bioeconomy, circular industries, and green transition innovations)
• Smart and Light-based Technologies
  (optics and photonics, clean energy, health, measurement, and safety innovations)
• Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Solutions
  (dual-use technologies, industrial digitalization, and next-generation digital services).
  

Whether you’re shaping your first business idea or building a growing venture, Susicorn is your stage to shine in the vivid Joensuu business region.

We invite:

• Entrepreneurs, early-stage startups, spinoffs, and growth companies ready to take the next leap
• Innovators and changemakers developing sustainable, scalable solutions
• Researchers and research teams commercializing their innovation
• Students and multidisciplinary teams with a groundbreaking business idea or innovation and the ambition to launch their own company.
  
  For those students whose ideas do not advance to the Susicorn final, there is still an opportunity to proceed to the Karelia Entrepreneurship EXPO pitching competition (finals in spring 2026). The EXPO pitching competition is open to students from Riveria, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, and the University of Eastern Finland.

Each applicant (individual or team) may submit up to three ideas.

The winner receives:

1. €15 000 prize, including *
 – €10 000 in startup funding
 – one year of coworking space package (worth €5 000) at Joensuu Tiedepuisto

* The €15,000 monetary prize will be awarded once the winning business idea or innovation has been established as a registered company within a municipality in the Business Joensuu operating area, or once a significant part of its operations has been relocated there, within one year from the Susicorn Startup Competition final held at the SOHJO 2026 event on March 27, 2026.

2. Direct entry to FiBAN Pitch Finland in spring 2026 – the leading Nordic pitch event for high-grow startups.

3. Join the Startup Joensuu hub and access its services offering tailored coaching, mentoring, funding opportunities, and extensive business development services at every stage of growth.

Your submission will be evaluated based on the following:

• Innovation: uniqueness and potential to transform industries
  
• Feasibility: clear potential for development within the Business Joensuu operating area (see municipalities above)
• Market potential: proven need and traction opportunity
• Scalability: vision and readiness for growth
• Team strength and execution capability: skills, motivation, and collaboration
• Pitch impact: clarity, storytelling, and persuasiveness
  

For the extraordinarily determined ones


Susicorn (Wolfcorn) represents courage, creativity, and ambition: where the Wolf’s determination meets the Unicorn’s drive for extraordinary success. Together, they form The Susicorn – an icon for founders who dream big, build boldly, and turn vision into luminous impact.

To become The Susicorn is to embody innovation and global potential rooted in the Joensuu region. It’s an invitation to grow, lead, and shape the future of business — from Joensuu to the world.

What once was the Start Me Up Business Idea Competition now continues its legacy as the Susicorn Startup Competition, powered by Business Joensuu.

Phase 1:
Apply between 1–31 January 2026 using the official Susicorn application form, which opens on this webpage  on 1 January at 00:00. Download the Susicorn Pitch Deck template, complete it with your business idea or startup pitch, and submit it via the application form by 31 January. 

Phase 2:
Finalists will be announced by 15 February 2026. Business Joensuu’s evaluation jury will select six finalists based on the evaluation criteria. 

Phase 3:
Pitch coaching for the finalists will take place on 26 February 2026. Expert mentoring from Business Joensuu’s coaches will help the finalists refine their concept and pitch using the same Susicorn pitch deck submitted in Phase 1.

Phase 4:
Susicorn Startup Competition Final – Pitch for the Brightest
Live on stage at the SOHJO Business Event in Joensuu.

The six finalists will pitch their innovations to the SOHJO audience and the Susicorn Final Jury: Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, Kaj Hagros, and Peter Vesterbacka. The jury will select the winner. One startup will shine above the rest and be crowned The Susicorn 2026!

Photo: A team pitching at the Suden Suu Pitching Competition at the SOHJO 2025 Business Event. 

1. Eligibility

The competition welcomes business ideas and innovations from entrepreneurs, startups, growth companies, innovators, researchers, and students from Finland and abroad who are ready to build, operate, or grow their business in the Business Joensuu operating area, or connect their activities with the region.

Business Joensuu’s operating area includes the municipalities of Heinävesi, Ilomantsi, Joensuu, Kitee, Liperi, Outokumpu, Polvijärvi, Rääkkylä, and Tohmajärvi.

Each applicant (individual or team) may submit up to three ideas.

All applications must be submitted in English using the official Susicorn Startup Competition form. The form includes a pitch deck template that must be downloaded, completed, and uploaded as part of the submission.

2. Evaluation Criteria

3. The Susicorn Award

The €15,000 monetary prize will be awarded once the winning business idea or innovation has been established as a registered company within the Business Joensuu operating area (see municipalities above), or once a significant part of its operations has been relocated there, within one year from the Susicorn Startup Competition final held at the SOHJO 2026 event on March 27, 2026.

The Susicorn title and direct entry to FiBAN Pitch Finland 2026 will be awarded immediately at the SOHJO event, giving the winner instant visibility, valuable connections, and opportunities for growth.

4. Intellectual Property, Confidentiality and Data Protection

• All submitted ideas remain the property of the participant.
• All applications are handled confidentially throughout the competition.
• Finalist pitches presented at SOHJO Business Event 2026 will be public.
• Participants are responsible for managing their own IP protection (e.g., patents, copyrights, trademarks).
• Business Joensuu, as the organizer of the Susicorn Startup Competition, is committed to protecting participant data in accordance with its Privacy Policy.
• If a participant wishes to limit the publicity of their idea, this must be clearly stated in the application form.
• The competition complies with Finnish law.
  

5. Additional Terms

• AI tools may be used to support ideation, but the business idea must be the participant’s own concept and development. The jury will consider the originality and participant input during evaluation.
• Participation requires submitting the completed competition form and pitch deck.
• By submitting an entry, participants accept all competition rules.
• Members of the jury and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate.
• If the participant is employed, they must comply with the Employee Invention Act.
• Any attached materials (e.g., prototypes, demos) will be returned upon request after the competition results are published.
• The organizer assumes no liability for any potential IP infringements by participants.
• The jury’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
• The winner agrees to reference the Susicorn Startup Competition as part of their future marketing and communications.