Coming Together to Tackle Tomorrow’s Challenges

The 7th edition of Ignite Sweden’s annual conference focused on addressing tomorrow’s challenges through impactful partnerships and shared expertise. The program was structured into four focused blocks, each highlighting best practices for every stage of the startup collaboration journey. Each block featured a TedX-style keynote, an in-depth panel, and interactive roundtable discussions where attendees exchanged insights and experiences.

Participants also explored local innovation through three tech visits: Cloudberry’s wind farm, ReTuna —the world’s first recycling mall— and two cutting-edge centers driving energy innovation in Eskilstuna: the Swedish Energy Agency’s Test Lab and the Energy Evolution Center.

“Having the Ignite Sweden Summit in Eskilstuna is important, of course, because it establishes that there are a lot of things happening in our region. It is also an opportunity to showcase the potential of working in this region,” says Mikael N. Hjorth, Manager and Founder of Electrification Hub, one of the event partners alongside Eskilstuna Municipality and the Swedish Energy Agency. The Summit was also organized in collaboration with Create Business Incubator, MITC, RosholmDell, and SISP.

Key Takeaways from the Stage

This year’s Ignite Sweden Summit featured a dynamic lineup of speakers who shared their experiences and expertise on innovation and collaboration. These included Anna Olsson (Karlstad Innovation Park), Annika Remaeus (Uppsala Municipality), Johan Almesjö (HBV), Johanna Zechel (Emulate Energy), Karl Eldebo (University of Linköping), Katarina Öquist (Epiroc), Katharina Paoli (Nudgd), Pia Wall (E.ON), Sally Winter (Cellfion), Sami Ahsani (Mölnlycke Health Care), and Steven Perkins (L’Oréal). The event was moderated by Maria Olofsson (Ignite & Uminova).

The conference served as a melting pot of ideas, leaving attendees with actionable insights for successful startup collaborations:

• The key to success lies in adoption and innovation.
• Collaboration goes beyond “just a match” with a startup—it’s about seeing the bigger picture.
• Corporates have a responsibility to support the innovation ecosystem.
• Challenges like cultural clash, speed, goal misassignment, internal resistance and resource allocation can hinder collaborations.
• Think big, start small, act now, and learn in the process.
• Be prepared, build trust, and stay curious.
• See the matchmaking meetings as a learning opportunity
• Don’t be afraid to match startups with other startups or solutions
• Think of the scalability of the solution and prepare a plan for that from the start of the collaboration.

The event also highlighted the importance of trust, openness, and long-term collaboration. As moderator Maria Olofsson emphasized, “the feeling of trust built over time was palpable during the conference. It’s inspiring to see everyone driven by the same mission.”

A Spirit of Connection and Learning

Ignite Sweden Summit 2024 proved that collaboration is key to tackling future challenges. As the event concluded, participants left with fresh ideas, stronger connections, and a shared commitment to drive innovation forward together.

“Working together is the way we can solve things,” said Urban Wikman, Business Director at Algoryx. “When you get to know each other more, it’s easier to solve issues and help each other develop both the companies and their products.”

Attendees echoed the importance of meaningful connections and shared learnings:

“For me, Ignite Sweden Summit was mostly about connecting with people. Meeting new people is what I find the most inspiring. We also made several relevant contacts so it was a great event for us to attend,” shared Malin Alpsten, CEO & Co-founder of Bright Day Graphene.

“I was surprised by the unexpected contacts we made,” said Katarina Öquist, Global R&D Technology & Innovation Manager at Epiroc. She highlighted the discussions around the tables and the connections made during the coffee breaks as her favorite parts of the event. “The coffee breaks are usually where a lot of things happen, and this was no exception.”

The Collaboration Heroes of 2024

The Summit also hosted the 8th annual Ignite Awards, celebrating organizations driving impactful startup collaborations. Winners in 11 categories included startups, corporations, public entities, incubators, and other innovation hubs.

The startup Barnduken won the Ignite Rapid Rollout Award together with Familjens Jurist for their collaboration—a unique solution to support youth emotional well-being during family separations. This partnership progressed from a pilot project to a commercial rollout in just a few months.

“I think my collaboration with Familjens Jurist was successful because we both had a clear idea of what we could achieve from the very first meeting. I have been creating children’s conversation starter products for a while, and it was a great fit with their mission of helping children. This recognition proves that I can work with big companies. It’s also been a great learning experience for me as a small startup to collaborate with a large company like them,” said founder Daniel Målberg.

One of the standout winners at the event was the city of Umeå, with two local startups—LumberScan and Algoryx—along with Umeå Municipality and Uminova Innovation, all receiving Ignite Awards during the ceremony.

“There’s no secret to Umeå’s success in the awards—it’s just hard work,” shared Urban Wikman from Algoryx.

Maria Olofsson from Umeå’s local incubator, Uminova Innovation, reflected on the city’s collaborative spirit: “Umeå is the perfect size to foster collaboration, with a strong drive and willingness to work together across all levels to optimize resources and amplify impact. A key example is our ability to collaborate on regional projects, leverage national initiatives like Ignite and SISP, and even engage internationally, thanks to Uminova Innovation hosting the Enterprise Europe Network in-house, effectively breaking down silos.”

These are the winners of the Ignite Awards 2024:

Ignite Rising Star (Private & Public Sector): Electrification Hub
Ignite Rising Star (Startups): IPercept
Ignite Deeptech Collaborator: L’Oréal
Ignite Rapid Rollout: Familjens Jurist & Barnduken
Ignite Master of Startups: Alfa Laval
Ignite Master of B2B Collaboration: LumberScan
Ignite National Partner Hero: Chalmers Ventures
Ignite Global Partner Hero: Québec Tech
Ignite Ecosystem Collaborator: Umeå Municipality & Uminova Innovation
Ignite Hero of the Year (Startups): Algoryx
Ignite Hero of the Year (Private & Public Sector): Uppsala Municipality, Uppsalahem & Destination Uppsala