12 firms selected for the Peloton Smart Retro Acceleration Programme

12 companies have been selected for the Peloton Smart Retro Acceleration Programme, organised by Demos Helsinki. The participating firms provide smart and sustainable services for urban citizens. These include City Car Club, Ekerne & Gamla Enskede Lådcyklar AB, Fourdeg, Greenely, IAgree, Meido, MoralGuard, Nurmi Clothing, PiggyBaggy, Remarket, Urban Fruit Initiative and Yhteismaa. All in all, there were 62 applications from all over Europe.

“The success of our Acceleration Programme reflects Demos Helsinki’s growing importance in the European startup scene,” says Roope Mokka, Founder and Head of Innovation at Demos Helsinki. This is the fifth time a Peloton Programme has been organised. Demos Helsinki also runs a Peloton Club for smartups.

The Peloton Smart Retro Acceleration Programme consists of two innovation camps: one in Lahti, Finland (4-5 December 2014) and another one in Stockholm, Sweden (21-22 January 2015). The innovation camps aim to build lasting partnerships between established Nordic firms and startups, and foster the development of new services. These services can relate to, for instance, the sharing economy, energy saving technologies, or the future of local stores and services.

The new services and products developed at the camp will be tested on the residents of both Lahti and Stockholm in spring 2015. Representatives from large companies and the public sector – as well as experts and local opinion leaders – will take part in the testing. The programme is also recruiting trailblazers and community influencers from the two cities to help promote and implement the use of these services.

Significant public and private actors are behind the Smart Retro Programme, including the City of Lahti, YIT, Citycon Finland, Granlund, Citymarket Paavola, Kesko, Stockholmshem, Stockholm Business Region Development and FutureBuilt of Oslo Community.

You can read more about the Peloton Smart Retro Programme here.