CreaDemo grants are awarded for product development projects that seek new product or service innovations in the creative industries and cultural entrepreneurship. The aim is to create new products, methods or services that are based on or utilise creative expertise.
A total of €90,000 was awarded to six demos under the CreaDemo grant. One of the supported projects focuses on the product development of craft kits. PolaLab, a company founded by a textile artist, is expanding its activities to include embroidery kits for consumers, with craft tools and materials that allow them to unleash their creativity. Inspired by Finnish landmarks and nature, the designs invite you to connect with Finnish culture.
DigiDemo is a product development grant for the development of new audiovisual or other cultural content and its narrative forms. A total of €390,000 was awarded to 22 demos under the DigiDemo grant. This year, the support was spread widely across Finland, in a total of 10 regions.
Creativity benefits Finland’s future success
According to Petteri Kolinen, member of the CreaDemo expert jury, the importance of creative skills in business and society in general is growing.
“It is important to understand the impact of trends, megatrends and drivers of change on people’s lives and changes in values and society. Ultimately, they also influence purchasing behaviour,” says Kolinen.
Kolinen is the leading consultant for strategic design at LINK Design and Development Oy. According to him, successful business and a better society can be built by understanding people’s needs and what matters to them.
“In Finland, creative skills are strongly visible in culture, but Finland’s competitiveness would benefit from harnessing creative skills to an even greater extent to build people-oriented and successful products, services and brands,” Kolinen continues.
“AVEK’s funding has been an important first step towards this goal of making better use of creativity for Finland’s future success.”
CreaDemo and DigiDemo grant decisions are made by two expert juries. In addition to Kolinen, the CreaDemo expert jury includes Humak Expert Leena Janhila and Uniarts Hub Project Manager Riitta Huttunen. The experts for DigiDemo are Marcus Korhonen, director of Aalto Studios; Antti Hirvonen, COO of creative content and media at Yle; and Taina Myöhänen, a game expert and PhD student.
AVEK’s DigiDemo and CreaDemo grants are funded with a specifically allocated budget received from the Ministry of Education and Culture. There are two application rounds. The concept grants were distributed in the spring, after which the application period for demo and pilot grants was open from 20 May to 6 September 2024.
See the list of decisions on the grant decision page (in Finnish)