The leading Nordic startup hub Maria 01‘s annual report is out. Now, it is possible to see how they do over the year. As it seems, this year was also a hit considering their net positive impact according to the report which is a result of deep research handled by Upright, a Helsinki-based technology company founded in 2017. With these latest figures, it means they have had a big net positive impact in the fields of knowledge and society three years in a row.
Upright has over 125 clients to measure the impact of their businesses by running its model based on a neural network summarizing more than 200 million scientific articles and modeling the economy with a taxonomy of 13,000+ product categories.
Maria 01 has, according to the report, managed to attract impactful, albeit similarly impactful companies over the years. Yes, they are holding a huge net impact ratio, but how so? The companies within the hub utilize fewer environmental resources, which is due to energy consumption and emissions that emerged during the process since they are tech-based. Yet, the companies use more scarce human capital compared to larger peers. Even so, they managed to put those resources to good use so that the final outcome appears in a positive way.
Key takeaways from the Maria 01 Impact Report 2021
- Maria 01 member startups raised a total of €358 million in funding 59 rounds in 2021.
- Maria 01 member startups created over 270 new jobs during 2021.
- With over 1 400 active community members, the Maria 01 Community hosts members from 65 different nationalities.
- 29 of all startups at the Maria 01 Campus in 2021 were founded by women.
- The net impact ratio of the startups at Maria 01 in 2021 (calculated with Upright’s net impact model) was +25.
- The total carbon footprint for the Maria 01 Community in 2020 was 1340 tCOCO₂e. This equals the carbon footprint of 133 average Finns.
One of Europe’s largest startup hubs Maria 01 makes huge net positive impact in the fields of knowledge and society for third year in a row
The net impact report of Maria 01 startups, conducted by Upright, shows that Maria 01 has been consistently net positive. Now, the hub wants to increase its net positive impact by implementing new impact-driven initiatives and strategies.
HELSINKI, Finland (March 9th, 2022) The leading Nordic startup hub Maria 01 has announced its latest Impact Report, which takes a deeper dive into the hub’s 183 startups and their net impact ratio measured with Upright’s methodology. Net impact ratio is a measure of how effectively a group of companies turns resources into positive impact. The method measures how the startups impact the world around them in terms of environment, health, society, and knowledge.
The results show that Maria 01’s startups have been consistently net impact positive for three years, especially in the fields of knowledge and society, reaching a +25 net impact ratio in 2021. In society, many Maria 01 companies play a role in the value chains of essential societal infrastructure such as payment systems, energy, and transport – in addition to creating jobs and taxable income.
“As far as we know, we are the only startup hub in Europe that has systematically and consistently measured our startups’ impact. As we are looking to expand the campus to over 70,000 square meters, it becomes even more important to make sure that companies inhabiting the premises are contributing to solving the world’s sizable problems, not enhancing them,” says Ville Simola, CEO of Maria 01.
To further their strategy of making Maria 01 the world’s largest and most impactful startup hub, they will implement new strategies in their process of accepting new companies. They will be adding new questions to the initial membership application form about their impact and how they align with the UN’s SDG goals. The answers will be reviewed and further questioned during the company interview, which is a part of becoming a Maria 01 member startup.
After becoming a member, Maria 01 will give proactive feedback and advice for companies on how they can further enhance their net impact ratio, using the Upright method as the basis.
“We have been really impressed with Maria 01’s willingness to be open and transparent about their hub’s impact. Maria 01 is a leading example of how seriously we should be measuring and discussing the impacts of startups, who are innovating more rapidly and frequently than anyone else,” says Erika Noponen, Head of Client Projects at Upright.
“We don’t want our community to be a bystander when it comes to solving both societal and world issues. We want them to take impact as seriously as they are with growing their business,” Simola concludes.
The report also shows that Maria 01 startups are much more net impact positive than its comparison groups – for example, the Fortune Global 500 listing from 2021 had a net impact ratio of -46% – meaning that they are using more resources than what they are saving.
Aiming towards a positive net impact ratio is not a secondary value for startups anymore. With investors implementing more ESG strategies to their funding thesis’, startups are expected to show the fields and results in which they are contributing positively.
In addition to their positive impact, Maria 01 startups are successfully raising significant funding rounds, making many of them successful in their core businesses. In 2021, Maria 01 members raised €358M in 59 funding rounds, created 271 new jobs, and had 65 different nationalities on their campus.
One of the world’s biggest polluters is the clothing industry, causing up to 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Finnish startups have been forerunners in circular economy innovations, including Maria 01 alumni company Swappie. One of them is Emmy, the leading web store for pre-owned clothes, which provides a complete service for sellers and buyers. Emmy’s 40-person strong team is located at Maria 01.
“The circular economy only covers about 1% of the clothing industry now, but its role is growing all the time. We have already sold over 1 million clothes through our webstore. Maria 01’s campus has multiple impact startups, and we have been able to create a community within a community of companies whose business is built on sustainability,” says Timo Huhtamäki, CEO of Emmy Clothing Company.
About the Upright Method
The Upright method is based on measuring how the startups impact the world around them in terms of environment, health, society, and knowledge. Compared to more traditional ESG metrics, the Upright method focuses on measuring the impact of the core business of a company. The model is based on a neural network summarizing 200M+ scientific articles and proprietary modeling of the economy with a taxonomy of 13,000+ product categories.
Maria 01
Maria 01 is the leading startup campus in the Nordics. Our community brings together early-stage tech startups, recognized venture capital firms and international investors, startup ecosystem organizations, and large enterprises with a strong foothold in the tech community, helping each other succeed.
Founded in 2016 and located in an old hospital campus in central Helsinki, Maria 01 operates as a community-driven, not-for-profit organization, co-owned by the City of Helsinki, Startup Foundation, and Helsinki Enterprise Agency. Currently, the campus serves as the home to over 1,400 members, consisting of 180 startups, 23 partner companies, and 22 local and foreign investor network members.
