Three Finnish women entrepreneurs—Laura Knuuti, Annamari Jukkola, and Enni Karikoski—have received €10,000 each through Visa‘s She’s Next grant program. This initiative, now in its second year, focuses on supporting female entrepreneurs in developing their businesses and enhancing visibility. The awardees include Niimaar, a circular economy company; Mö Foods, Finland’s pioneering oat dairy; and Keloa, an eyewear brand using reindeer antlers. Visa’s overarching goal is to foster inclusive and sustainable economies in the Nordic and Baltic regions by empowering individuals and businesses. The She’s Next initiative extends its global support to women entrepreneurs and small businesses.
As a global payment network and a strong local operator, Visa plays an important role in supporting commerce in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Visa’s goal is to create inclusive and sustainable economies by strengthening individuals, companies and communities in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
During the fall, female entrepreneurs had the opportunity to apply for the Visa She’s Next grant for the second year in a row. The aim of the program is to support female entrepreneurs in developing their business, increasing the visibility of their company and obtaining external funding. Now three Finnish women-owned companies have been awarded 10,000 euros and Femvest’s offer of business preparation and inflation.
“At Visa, we believe in the power of an inclusive economy. Small businesses have recently faced a number of challenges, including financial difficulties, changes in consumer behavior and inflation.I am really pleased with the success of our Visa She’s Next grant program in its second year. This program is a key part of our support for female entrepreneurs, providing them with funding and business coaching. Through a global network of digital payments and a strong local presence, we are able to offer know-how and tools that help more and more entrepreneurs and small business owners,” says Juha Sillanpää, Visa’s country manager for Finland and the Baltics.
The local council has now made its decision. The recipients of Visa’s She’s Next grant in Finland in 2023 are:
Niimaar
Niimaar is a circular economy company, the development of which, in addition to Enni Karikoski, involved her sister, mother and a group of designers. The company’s goal is to change the disposable culture through thoughtful design, help implement waste management plans and implement EU recommendations. Niimaari’s products include recycling systems for homes and public spaces, as well as services to improve production, packaging and recycling costs, responsibility reporting and keeping materials in circulation.
Mö Foods
The founders of Mö Foods, Annamari Jukkola and Marjaana Vuorio, grew up on a Finnish dairy farm and learned a lot about food production there. Although nature and animals are well taken care of in Finland, they noticed the need for sustainable development and decided to develop even more sustainable products from oats. Backgrounds in chemical technology, visual communication and family entrepreneurship helped to implement the new idea. Thus, in the spring of 2017, Mö was born, Finland’s first oat dairy on the founders’ own family farm.
Keloa
After moving to northern Finland, optician Laura Knuuti discovered a reindeer antler on a forest trip. This awakened in him the dream of creating eyeglass frames from horns. Despite the doubts at the beginning, after several attempts, he succeeded in producing lensable frames, combining them with a traditional Finnish frame. After honing her skills in France at the hands of master craftsmen, Laura now sells her Keloa Eyewear products from a small workshop in Sodankylä. His plans include a distribution channel through selected retailers and an online store.
She’s Next
Visa The She’s Next initiative is a global initiative that aims to promote and improve the working conditions of female entrepreneurs and small businesses. In August 2022, the grant program was launched for the first time in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The initiative has previously been implemented in several other Visa markets such as the United States, Canada, Ireland and Poland. Since 2020, Visa has supported women-owned businesses with a total of $3.8 million through the She’s Next initiative.
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