Proof-of-Concept Grant
Have a business idea?
The Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Grant is here to help. This grant is designed to support students, researchers, and university staff in Turku who want to explore the commercial potential of their early-stage business ideas.
Monttu Ventures is part of the team behind this pilot project, working together with Business Turku and Boost Turku to bring promising ideas to life.
What PoC grant?
The PoC Grant offers up to €5,000 per idea or team. It’s meant to give you a solid runway – about three months – to focus full-time on developing and testing your business idea. The funding comes from the City of Turku’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) voucher system, and there’s a total budget of €30,000 available for 2026. This year, however, €5,000 of the total budget has been pre-allocated to the winner fo Startup Journey.
You can use the grant to cover your own time or to fund activities directly related to building and testing your idea. The goal is to give you room to focus, experiment, and learn!
In your application, briefly describe your idea, target users, and the problem you’re solving. Tell us what makes your solution unique and how you’ve started validating it.
Include a cost breakdown (living vs. development costs), a short team intro, and a concrete plan for the first weeks and months. You can also attach a pitch deck or one-pager.
Next application deadline: 15th May 2026.
Contact
If you need more information regarding the application process, please contact he pre-screening committee:
Ella Jokipii, Monttu Ventures
ella@monttunventures.com
Elias Savonlahti, Business Turku elias.savonlahti@businessturku.com
Aaron Lindberg, Boost Turku ry
aaron@boostturku.com