FAQ

Ignite offers a structured approach for startups to connect with established companies and public organizations seeking innovative solutions.
Through a qualitative matchmaking process, organizations specifically select startups based on their innovation needs, ensuring highly relevant interactions.
Over 60% of these meetings lead to further discussions, creating real opportunities for collaboration. Each match is a step toward securing a B2B customer that can help scale your startup.

Ignite is partly funded by Vinnova to help us achieve our stated mission. This funding (‘Verifieringsmedel’) allows Ignite Sweden to offer its services at no direct cost to participating startups and scaleups.
Click here to read more about the services Ignite Sweden provides, the criteria for eligibility, and the value of each service.

Ignite’s primary target group is startups at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) levels 3 to 9. At these stages, interactions with potential customers and innovation collaborations are critical for development, market entry, and scaling.

Click here to read more about the criteria for eligibility.

Only startups established in Sweden and registered as limited companies are eligible to participate in most of our activities. However, we occasionally hold matchmaking events where startups from outside Sweden are also welcome to join.
You can check which matchmaking events are open to international startups and from which countries here.

Through our program, you can connect with national and international corporations from a wide range of industries, as well as public-owned companies, municipalities, and other public organizations with a strong interest in startup collaboration. Since 2017, over 400 established organizations have participated in Ignite Sweden.

You will typically meet representatives who work in areas such as innovation and product development. Depending on the startup solution, they are often joined by relevant specialists from their organization, such as sustainability managers, product owners, or engineers.
We ensure that startups meet the right people within these organizations—those with both the mandate and the budget to explore commercial collaborations and paid partnerships.
We ensure that startups meet the right people within these organizations—those with the mandate and budget to initiate commercial collaborations and paid partnerships.

To be matched, startups need to register in the Ignite Magic platform and provide key details, including company information, innovation description, offering, desired customer interactions, and the global sustainability goals their innovation addresses. It is essential that all information is provided in English, as our team uses English keywords when scouting the database, and many representatives from established organizations do not speak Swedish.
Additionally, startups should include information on gender equality within their team.
Your company profile serves as an introduction to both our team and the participating established organizations. A well-structured and detailed profile makes a great first impression and helps us better understand your innovative solution. We strongly recommend updating your profile regularly with the latest information about your company.
Check out this article for tips on how to make your company profile more compelling and increase your chances of being matched.

You will typically have your first interactions with corporates and public organizations in 20-minute 1:1 meetings held as part of a matchmaking event.
Ignite’s matchmaking events are not speed-dating or networking events where every startup meets every corporate or public organization. Instead, these meetings are carefully curated through a thorough matchmaking process to ensure the quality and relevance of each interaction.
This initial interaction is facilitated by us—we provide the digital platform or physical location, schedule the meeting for you, and share all the necessary details to join.

Every time an established organization confirms a match with a startup, our platform Ignite Magic automatically sends an email notification to the startup. This typically happens about three weeks before the event. You will also receive a notification if we couldn’t find any matches for your startup on the matchday you applied for.

Sometimes, you may receive an email notifying you that your startup has been matched with an established organization at an event you haven’t applied for. This can be due to a number of reasons, with the main ones being that we sometimes facilitate meetings outside our regular matchdays and that our team actively scouts startups across our entire database to find the best matches for organizations’ innovation needs. If you are unavailable for the meeting, please let us know by email at info@ignitesweden.org.

A representative from Ignite may listen in on your meeting to provide personalized feedback and guidance to your startup. This helps increase the chances of a successful follow-up with the established organization. After the meeting, the Ignite team member fills out an evaluation form assessing various parameters to determine the support your startup may need moving forward.

If you’d like to receive feedback from your meetings, or if you prefer that the Ignite team does not listen in, please contact us at info@ignitesweden.org with “Matchday Feedback” in the subject line.

Whenever your startup receives a match, our platform automatically notifies the business coach listed in your profile and invites them to attend your meeting. The purpose of this invitation is to ensure they can provide targeted feedback and advice to help your startup progress in its collaboration with the established organization.

All registered startups are invited to an onboarding webinar, where we provide an overview of the criteria, matchmaking process, and support offerings. The webinar also offers guidance on how startups can increase their chances of getting matched and meeting established organizations.