Research and business campus Tehnopol, in cooperation with SEB, started the Innovation Leaders Club

Research and business campus Tehnopol, in cooperation with SEB, started the Innovation Leaders Club in order to raise the global competitiveness of Estonian companies. The aim is to unite innovators within companies into a single community, to support the transplanting of open innovation and to increase the capacity to manage change within Estonian companies.

In order to survive in an ever-changing business environment, each company must increase its capacity for innovation alongside its normal business activities. The Innovation Leaders Club begins with regular seminars and workshops, raising the awareness of best practices and providing new skills for using innovation tools. The initiative will be launched by the research and business campus Tehnopol, in cooperation with SEB.

According to Mart Maasik, Head of Business Innovation at SEB, growing the competitiveness of Estonian companies through innovation is of critical importance. Even in the face of the uncertainty of the present day, there are many stand out companies that are capable of growing rapidly. These are companies whose business is focused on a digital platform, such as Amazon, Google or even faster expanders from Asia, all of which are offering increasing competition to companies in our region. ‘Globalisation and digitalisation are trends that affect the future of almost all Estonian companies. In order to survive, one must adapt to the new entrants, and those who are able to look beyond their current business logic in the search for new and more efficient solutions will prove to be truly successful’, explained Maasik, who says that it is important to have a long-term view.

What the long-term perspective is, who the strategic partners are, where one should invest, where one should build their competitive advantage, how the company’s internal work organisation and processes can be made more efficient, the extent to which products and services need to be digitised, are the topics the club deals with. Even though there are significant differences in the structure and work culture of large companies and start-ups, sharing a common goal provides a good starting point for successful cooperation. One of the core values of the Innovation Leaders Club is to bring two parties together and help them work together successfully.

According to Martin Gorosko, Head of Business Development at the research and business campus Tehnopol, start-ups have strongly changed the market and partly excluded classic and large companies from the business. ‘Because start-ups have nothing to lose, it gives them the courage to make risky decisions, experiment, and move forward quickly. As a result, more accessible, convenient and valuable products reach customers. Large companies should adapt to this tempo and working model, in order to be successful’, said Gorosko. The Innovation Leaders Club helps large companies and start-ups to find common ground and jointly develop new products, services and business models. This is a good opportunity for a large company to stay at the cutting edge of the wave of innovation and for a start-up company to reach the market more easily, said Martin Gorosko as he encouraged the participants to work together.

The Innovation Leaders Club is looking forward to innovation implementing visionaries from all walks of life – as well as ambitious companies interested in innovation – joining their ranks.

The Innovation Leaders Club will provide an introduction to the webinar taking place on 17 June, where President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, the founder and CTO of Testlio, Kristel Kruustük, and the founder and CEO of Krimelte, Jaan Puusaag, will be appearing. The discussion will focus on cooperation between the old and the new economy in the context of the new economic environment and opportunities. Under discussion will be whether the cooperation between large companies and start-ups will lead to the expected transfer of innovation and the industrial revolution. The event is being curated by Martin Gorosko, Head of Business Development at Tehnopol. The web seminar is free, but registration is required.

The goal of Tehnopol, the largest research and business campus in the Baltics, is to contribute to the emergence and growth of world-class technology companies in Estonia, and to support their expansion into foreign markets. To this end, a comprehensive solution is offered from commercial real estate to needs-based business development services in three focus areas: smart city, green technology, and health technology.

Additional info:

Communications Manager
Marketing and Communications Division
SEB Pank

Phone: +372 6655 649
Mobile: +371 5111 718
Address: Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn
E-mail: evelin.allas@seb.ee