Building a Pre-Incubation Ecosystem through City–University Collaboration: Helsinki’s Campus Incubators Programme

The Campus Incubators Programme in Helsinki brings together the City of Helsinki and higher education institutions to strengthen very early-stage entrepreneurship support. Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences deliver complementary pre-incubation activities that help students, researchers and other potential entrepreneurs develop ideas, build entrepreneurial skills and progress towards further incubation and acceleration. The case highlights the importance of public support, institutional embedding and cooperation across the local start-up ecosystem.