Sting named world's best startup accelerator/incubator!

The Global Startup Awards were founded in Denmark in 2012 and are held every two years. The aim of the competition is to inspire, stimulate and draw attention to entrepreneurship throughout the world, and at the same time create a community of startup enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and mentors. After three wins in the regional competition, Nordic Startup Awards 2020, Sting and Henna qualified for the global finals in three categories: "Best Accelerator/Incubator", "People's Choice" and "Ecosystem Hero of the Year".

Yesterday, the global winners were announced during a gala in Copenhagen and Sting scooped the prize as the world's best accelerator/incubator.

“We have had the privilege of being involved in developing one of the world's foremost ecosystems for startups for almost 20 years. We are deeply honored to win this award, which is a recognition of the strength of the entire ecosystem in Stockholm and the Nordic countries, as well as a perfect start to our 20th anniversary next year, ”says Pär Hedberg, founder and CEO of Sting.

Henna Keränen, head of partnerships and community at Sting, received the global Ecosystem Hero of the Year award. The award is given to a person who is known for their passion for entrepreneurship and ability, as well as willingness to help startups and entrepreneurs grow.

“I am enormously honored and humbled by the award. The fact that the ‘the Global Ecosystem Hero’ award goes to Sweden for the second time in a row shows the strength of our startup culture here in the Nordic region. I will do my best to continue to strengthen the ecosystem here, but also through cooperation with countries and ecosystems outside the Nordic region, ”says Henna Keränen.

Sting is Europe's most comprehensive support system for startups and has been an important part of the development of Stockholm's and Sweden's startup community for 20 years. Sting has supported hundreds of promising tech startups and played an active role in creating several important components in Stockholm's startup ecosystem: an accelerator, an incubator, several co-working spaces, Sweden's largest recruitment service for startups, the matchmaking business Ignite and investment companies Luminar Ventures and Propel Capital.

Sting has supported over 350 startups, of which 70% continue to develop and grow today. Together, all Sting companies have a turnover of more than SEK 3.4 billion, of which 64 percent comes from international sales. They have created 3,300 jobs and raised about 7.7 billion in private capital. Eleven are listed on the stock exchange and the total value of the companies in 2020 was over SEK 20 billion.