Oulu, dubbed the Capital of Northern Scandinavia, has set its sights on becoming globally competitive, diversely entrepreneurial and an urban business centre that creates jobs and exports. The city is well on its way to achieving that vision.

Oulu has always had a strong culture of entrepreneurship. Over the past 15 years, Nokia has attracted a number of talented people to its ranks, but now, as a result of the change in the company’s strategy, there is a considerable workforce in the region with a high level of competence, and many highly capable actors have begun to tackle business ideas that have been brewing for a long time, says Juha Ala-Mursula, Director of BusinessOulu.
BusinessOulu is a city-owned enterprise responsible for implementing the city’s industrial policies and for providing development services required by companies. Its objective is to create a business environment that promotes the creation, operation, growth and competitiveness of companies, and which improves employment in the region.

Appeal and competence

According to Ala-Mursula, the breakthrough in Oulu’s startup scene dates back to the mid-1980s, when several dozen new companies launched operations in the city. Things slowed down in the ‘90s, but picked up again in 2007. Since then, hundreds of companies have been started up in Oulu, creating a dynamic spirit of entrepreneurship in the city, where foreign companies already number roughly 200.
"Within just two years we have managed to triple the number of investments", says a pleased Ala-Mursula.
Oulu boasts several strong areas of competence. From a global perspective, its mobile communications engineering and manufacturing is very strong, both in terms of products and services. Considerable business is also being carried out in health and welfare technology. Other strong areas are cleantech, mining technology and the combination of life sciences and bio-industry.
— We are accustomed to doing things quickly. The city is sufficiently large in terms of its offering, but also small enough to operate effectively. We know one another well and are able to seamlessly accomplish things across boundaries. Oulu, in fact, boasts the youngest age demographic in Europe, Ala-Mursula points out.

Smartest in the world

Oulu, which has earned the nickname the Capital of Northern Scandinavia, was ranked among the seven most intelligent cities in the world in 2012 by Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). Ala-Mursula believes there are many factors behind the ‘Oulu – Capital of the North’ brand: Oulu is the most populous city in northern Scandinavia, and contains the biggest university in the region, the most diverse trade and industry, a colourful cultural scene, and Finland’s second-busiest airport. It is also a popular tourist destination.

— Becoming, according to ICF, Europe’s most intelligent city and the seventh most intelligent city in the world has been a long process. Oulu has always been very open to business, technology and development. We also have very good co-operation between companies, universities and public actors. On a monthly basis we devise ways to do things more efficiently, better and faster, he says.
— The outcome of that process is that today we are seeing two and a half times more inventions in the region than, for example, in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area; we also have more entrepreneurship, and the balance of trade in the region is favourable. We are on the right development track, Ala-Mursula concludes.

Source:
Good News from Finland
www.goodnewsfinland.com/archive/themes/the-rise-of-oulu/oulu-a-miracle-in-the-making/