Nordic Funding Day 2026

Welcome to the Nordic Funding Day 2026

Join us for Connect’s annual startup and funding summit – third year in a row – as part of our Connect X initiative.

We are bringing the brightest minds from the Nordics for a day of unparalleled networking, knowledge-sharing, and funding opportunities.

The event has two parts:

• Morning live stream 09:00-14:00 (online). All information is on this page.
• Evening pitch meetup / AW (in-person, Stockholm). Go to this separate page.

Want to pitch at the Nordic Funding Day 2026?

• Applications to our March 2026 round are open: apply via our startups page
• Spots are competitive; shortlisted startups may be called in for a quick pitch review session.
• If you do not hear back from us, means your startup was not selected but may be considered for a later round ex. April/later.
• Startups applying to Connect are typically from Nordics and raising €100K-€1M+

AGENDA

• 09:00 SUMMIT OPENING
  • Naimul Abd | CEO Connect Sverige Region Öst & CEO SweBAN – Swedish Business Angel Networks
• 09:10 KEYNOTE: The State of European Angel Investing Ecosystem
  • Jesper Jarlbæk | President, EBAN – European Business Angel Network
• 09:30 PANEL DISCUSSION: Angel Investing in Nordics
  • Christine Bjärkby | Board Member SweBAN | Board Member EBAN – European Business Angels Network
  • Jana Saastamoinen | Managing Director EstBAN – Estonian Business Angels Network
  • Svava Björk Ólafsdóttir | Managing Director IceBAN – Icelandic Business Angel Network
  • Svein-Magnus Sørensen | Chair of the Board NorBAN – Norwegian Business Angel Network
  • Tuomas Pahlman | Business Angel of the Year (FiBAN) – Founding Partner Hopohopo.io
• 10:15 PANEL DISCUSSION: Nordic VC Insights
  • Finn Persson | Partner & Co-Founder Spintop Ventures
  • Hannah Meiton | Partner Ampli Ventures
  • Sami Ahvenniemi | General Partner Vendep Capital
  • Sami Vikback | CEO 8 Media Ventures
• 11:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: Accelerating in Nordics
  • Isabel Keulen | CEO SSE Ventures & Business Lab
  • Karin Ruiz | CEO Sting
  • Sarita Runeberg | CEO Maria01
  • Klementina Österberg | CEO  GU Ventures
  • Johanna Lundmark | Head of Platform Norrsken
• 11:45 FIRESIDE CHAT: Accelerating Angel Investing
  • Björn Larsson | Founder & CEO IRP By Beels – Angel Investor
• 12:00 LIVE STARTUP PITCHES (JURY)
  • Anders Nygren | Founding Partner Foundry Ventures
  • Anders Perméus | CEO / Founder Pactumize
  • Angela Holter | Founding Partner & Chair WIN Ventures – Best in Class Investor Norway (Angel Prize, 2025) – EBAN’s Top 25 Women Investors in Europe (2024)
  • Eira Tobrand | Investor Luminar Ventures
  • Emelie Stark | Head of Ventures and Partnerships Sweden Plug and Play Ventures
  • Hayden Miller | Partner and European Patent Attorney AWA
  • Mikaela Larsell Ayesa | Head of Investor Relations TECHARENA – Forbes 30u30 – Executive Program Director Time to Raise – Chair YEoS
  • Ragnheidur H. (Ragga) Magnusdottir | Founding Partner and Investor |Nordic Ignite
  • Resad Zacina | Chief Growth Officer, Ministry of Programming
  • Rita Anson | Secretary General NorBAN (Norwegian Business Angel Network) – Board Member EBAN (European Business Angel Network)
  • Peter Brodén | Founder Aggregate Media
  • Tina Falck | CCO Nordic Angels
  • Ólafur Steindórsson | Partner/Advokat CMS Wistrand

Nordic Funding Day 2026 is powered by

• SweBAN – Swedish Business Angel Networks l Sweden’s non-profit branch organization with a mission to help creation and acceleration of business angel networks.
• CMS Wistrand l One of the leading Swedish law firms supporting founders, scale-ups and investors across growth, funding and transactions. Locally led and globally scaled, CMS Wistrand works seamlessly across sectors to deliver pragmatic advice focused on speed, execution and long-term value.
• Pactumize DealFlow – turns “contracts to capital” into one seamless workflow – from corporate housekeeping and due diligence to fundraising, negotiation and closing.
• AWA is one of Europe’s most active intellectual property firms, providing end‑to‑end advice to companies of all sizes to protect their brands and innovations.

– Apply to Connect Investor Network if you are a VC, CVC, Family Office, Angel Investor, serial entrepreneur, startup coach, professional, accelerator manager.

For partnerships and speaking opportunities, reach out to Naimul Abd