In the spring of 2023, the Belgisch-Luxemburgs-Duitse Kamer van Koophandel selected a few promising startups from Belgium, including our company, to be nominated for a brand-new event, the “Nordic Startup Challenge” in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg.
Sealution was subsequently invited by the Hamburg Chambre of Commerce to apply for participation.
With Hamburg being one of the essential maritime capitals in the world and Europe’s third biggest port, this was certainly an offer we could not refuse … followed by an application which we completed successfully.
The industry focus is on the area of “Coastal Economy & Logistics”. The participating start-ups will be accompanied by an institutional partner from their country to ensure a sustained exchange at this level supporting the internationalisation of the companies in the future.
In addition to a pitch competition with an award ceremony, the colourful programme consists of a tour of the relevant Hamburg players, workshops, one-on-one talks with potential strategic partners and a supporting cultural programme.
So, on Monday the 11th of September, our team members Romeo Martens (CTO & Co-Founder) and Peter Vuylsteke (Head of Business Development) got onto a plane with destination Hamburg.
On Tuesday morning, Ricarda Ratay gave a presentation on behalf of Hamburg Invest and Startup City Hamburg, introducing the startups into “the greatest startup ecosystem in the world”. Next was the law firm Taylor Wessing Germany, elaborating on the legal basics of setting up a business in Hamburg. The icing on the cake was provided by Isabelle Rickmers, founder and CEO of Turtle (a job marketplace connecting shipping companies and seafarers directly, based on a special match algorithm - on an equal footing), and Tim Ponath, CEO of NSB Group (Reederei NSB Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft) who offered exciting insights during a Q&A session into their fruitful collaboration as a startup and corporate.
In the afternoon of this second day, the group was offered a very informative bus tour on the fully automated Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), operated by HHLA (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG). The harmonious interplay of huge ship-to-shore cranes and AGV’s to load and unload thousands of containers onto and from gigantic container vessels remains a fascinating operation to follow.
The absolute highlight of the day was to enjoy the well-prepared pitches of the startups during a MEET & EAT evening-filling event in the majestic premises of the Handelskammer Hamburg. In the presence of an impressive maritime industry audience, the selection of the winner by a high-profile expert jury appeared to be quite challenging with all those great ideas, projects and products. The moderation by the always enthusiastic Freya Oehle made the evening very enjoyable. In the end it was the startup Cetasol – Marine Sustainability who finally prevailed. A special prize awarded by Scaleup Landing Pad Hamburg was presented to FoulFighter Ltd.
The third and final day of the three-day programme offered us the opportunity to have interesting conversations and to exchange ideas with local leaders of industry and technology. This was organised in the form of a business breakfast in the presence of handpicked investors, as well as decision-makers of targeted companies from the port, shipping, logistics, water management, material recycling, electric drive and charging infrastructure sectors.
This closing network event took place, with the support of Plug and Play, on the very inspiring premises of the Factory Hammerbrooklyn. Located at the heart of Hamburg’s digital district, a historical convergence point for business, economy, cultural and innovation networks, this venue has a rich international history and has been constructed with the highest standards for smart buildings.
On behalf of Sealution – Connectivity Below Deck, sincerely thank you to the Handelskammer Hamburg for the superb organisation, the support, and above all for the opportunity offered to participate in this new event. The pleasure was ours.
The network is the power, and not only below deck.
Hamburg and the ecosystem clearly showcased during the event that there is definitely a supportive climate to welcome with open arms international startups wanting to join forces with the local industry and its companies to take innovation to the next level.
The first step in our journey of a thousand miles.
