About project

Why the project was started and what problem it solves

Innovative Aerial Services IAS companies in Estonia, Finland and Sweden face barriers such as limited testing opportunities, complex regulations and lack of internationalisation support. Many of them are young growth companies with market-ready solutions but limited resources to scale.

IAS Business Academy was created to help these companies move beyond local markets. The programme provides a cross-border growth journey that includes expert mentoring, trainings, study trips, participation in international events and pilot projects with end-users. Instead of direct grants, the Academy covers the companies’ costs for these activities with a small percentage of self-financing required from participants.

Impact on target groups

The project focuses on companies developing innovative aerial services, including companies offering services using unmanned aerial systems and companies providing services for the UAS ecosystem.

As a result, participating companies are expected to demonstrate measurable growth in turnover, exports and investment readiness. This contributes directly to the objective of fostering more new scaled-up growth companies in the Central Baltic region.

Project work plan

The IAS Business Academy runs a 12-month cross-border growth programme for companies from Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The programme includes implementation of cross-border demo projects together with end-users, 1:1 business development and IAS expert support from international experts, study and trade missions in Sweden, Finland and Estonia, participation at IAS industry events and fairs in Europe, online thematic workshops and networking between Finnish, Swedish and Estonian IAS companies and stakeholders.

The programme supports each participating company with up to 15 000 EUR and includes up to 25 companies in one batch.