Press Release: US Embassy Finland grants Bloom $25000 to produce American Entrepreneurial Challenge 2022

Contact information:

Bloom ry
Attn: Kelly Keodara, tampere@bloomtogether.fi, +358 44 9771 977

Kehräsaari, A-rappu, 214, www.bloomtogether.fi

Bloom ry receives US$25,000 Grant to produce American Entrepreneurial Challenge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tampere, Finland, March 21, 2022 - Bloom ry, a leading association with a mission to build the bridge between internationals and locals in Finland through empowerment events, received a US$25,000 grant on March 18, 2022. The grant was endowed by US Embassy Finland of the Public Affairs Section for the purpose of producing the American Entrepreneurial Challenge beginning this spring. More information at www.aecfinland.com.

The goal of the project is to provide students with a unique opportunity to strengthen their entrepreneurial and English skills. The competition is intended for high school students in Finland. Funds will be allocated to marketing, sales and operational departments, in addition to providing travel and accommodations for the students, to pursue this goal. The programme will run from March 18, 2022-May 6, 2022. The actual competition will take place from May 5-6, 2022.

The project will be headed by Kelly Keodara and Juho Mäkinen, with special guests, Mirza Sagdati, Selina Kustela and Yuliya Salorenko. Kelly Keodara has successfully produced various projects for US Embassy Finland through Bloom ry. She has extensive background in Communications: language instruction, marketing communications, event coordination, broadcast journalism, public speaking, community building, international relations and M&E in developing countries. Kelly has recently been named Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise by Euclid Network supported by EU Commission. She has been active in the startup ecosystem in Tampere. Currently she is working in the marketing communications field in laser technology for medical devices to kill cancer. Juho Mäkinen is an entrepreneur with a startup ecosystem development background. Currently Juho is focusing on creating an export product out of Finnish Sahti. In addition, Juho is finishing his Accounting and Management studies at Tampere University and helping early-stage entrepreneurs with a focus of piloting, go-to-market, and finances. Mirza Sagdati is a startup coach, facilitator and founder of Red Brick Accelerator. After his first company 8 years ago, he worked with over 60 startups helping new entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable and profitable companies. He loves working with innovative and disruptive ideas. He gets excited about a lot of things, but mostly about early idea testing, validation and pitching. Selina Kustula is a startup coach and facilitator in Red Brick Accelerator. Her startup journey started with her first company MustRide, followed by many other companies to come. Right now Selina puts her time into supporting startup entrepreneurs grow all the way to first customers and first investments. She loves giving feedback, but also very passionate about topics of customer experience and value creation. Yuliya Salorenko is a growth marketer by day and a public speaker by night. Currently, she is a Senior Growth Marketer at The F Company, and she is running a side business in public speaking, startup coaching, personal branding and beyond. As an active citizen, Yuliya strongly advocates for diversity and is a part of a few initiatives helping international talents in Finland integrate to the working life. Yuliya is a TEDx speaker, a poet, an entrepreneur on a mission to facilitate growth in companies and humans.

“It is with great honour to produce the American Entrepreneurial Challenge for our community in Finland. Being an entrepreneur isn’t just about having a great idea. It is also about being able to share that passion and influence others to believe your mission too. AEC will provide the platform for high school students to practice pitching ideas, receive feedback from experts, and have a great time while doing it! I am excited for this year’s programme as we have such a dynamic team working together. More information can be found at www.aecfinland.com. We look forward to a successful programme ahead!” -Kelly Keodara

Bloom ry is an association with a mission to be the bridge between internationals and locals by providing integration support through empowerment events that help members grow, personally and professionally.