Nordic Innovation Fair 2025

We spoke with Walden Emil Bjørn-Yoshimoto, founder of Akasi Pharma, a company pioneering non-opioid therapeutics for pain treatment. Walden first attended Nordic Innovation Fair (NIF) in 2022, describing it as one of the most attractive conferences for early-stage companies seeking investors:

“It’s the easiest place to talk to investors, and you’re not swamped by people trying to sell you something. I really appreciate that,” he recalls.

This welcoming environment made NIF the perfect starting point for Akasi Pharma.

Winning the Pitch and Gaining Momentum

In 2024, Akasi Pharma returned to NIF—and this time, they won the Pitch Award.

“Shortly after winning the pitch award, we were accepted into the BII VentureLab program,” Walden shares. This opportunity enabled them to further develop their project and gain valuable insights from industry experts.

Building Connections along the way

One of the most significant benefits of participating in NIF was the network Walden built with investors and fellow innovators. These relationships have been instrumental in Akasi Pharma’s growth:

“We have some really good, continuous talks with investors we met at NIF. They eagerly follow our progress and provide valuable feedback,” Walden explains.

Akasi Pharma also established a collaboration with another project they encountered at the fair, further expanding their network and opportunities.

Learning to Speak the Language of Investors

One could say, that NIF served as a training ground for Akasi Pharma to refine their investor pitch and understand what investors are truly looking for. Walden also highlights the importance of simply starting the conversation. This foundational lesson has guided their approach to storytelling, pitching, and building investor relationships.

“At NIF, I learned how to talk to investors and began to understand what I’m looking for,”

The next steps

Now part of the BII VentureLab program, Akasi Pharma continues to grow. They are actively fundraising to reach their next milestones and bring in additional expertise to support their company.  

Since their last participation at NIF, Akasi Pharma has grown significantly - not only in advancing their science and technology but also in how they communicate their value. This year, they return with a sharper focus and a clearer message.

“We bring a clearer articulation of our differentiation, as well as a development plan grounded in real feasibility,” they share. “We’ve also learned to focus not only on our technical milestones but also on the steps we’re taking around IP, regulatory planning, and team building—most of which will require additional funding.”

We’re excited to follow Akasi Pharma’s continued progress and look forward to welcoming them for another year at Nordic Innovation Fair, where we gather the best early-stage innovation from the Nordics.

Join us at Industriens Hus in Copenhagen on 22–23 September 2025.

When Gefjon Pharma first signed up for the Nordic Innovation Fair (NIF), they had just started out. Today, the company has secured over 10 million DKK in soft funding, a licensing agreement with the University of Copenhagen, and are building a growing network of investors and collaborators. Their journey shows how preparation, persistence, and the right platform can take you from idea to funding.

NIF as a launchpad

Gefjon Pharma participated in NIF in both 2023 and 2024. For co-founders Torben, Thomas, Fabio and Miki, it was an eye-opening experience.

“It was incredibly motivating to be in an environment with so many different players—investors, startups, advisors. As a startup, you often sit isolated behind your screen. Being at NIF was a breath of fresh air,” said Torben.

The team won the Best Pitch award in 2023, a recognition that not only boosted their confidence but also sparked new connections.

“We didn’t even know there was a ceremony—we were out of the building when they announced it,” Thomas recalled with a laugh. “But when we came back, people were already looking to talk to us because of the award.”

Bridging Science and Business

Preparing for NIF was a learning curve in itself. As a team with both academic and corporate backgrounds, Gefjon had to translate their science into a compelling business case.

“Creating the poster forced us to make our work understandable to others,” said Torben. “And booking meetings helped us identify who was actually interested in what we do.”

They also discovered the importance of visual storytelling. With help from their network, they streamlined their pitch deck and poster design — which they still use today.

“We made it look professional, and that made a big difference. It’s not our core skill, but it matters,” said Thomas.

Building Confidence — and a Company

The exposure and feedback helped the team refine their pitch and strategy, eventually leading to a successful application for the Innofounder Grant and a “founder-friendly convertible loan note of 4M DKK”.

“Meeting people from BII in person at NIF helped us leave a stronger impression. Later, when we applied, they already knew who we were,” said Torben.

“It gave us the confidence to go all in,” added Thomas. “We quit our jobs and committed 100% to Gefjon Pharma.”

Since then, the company has secured over 10 million DKK in soft funding, signed a licensing agreement with the University of Copenhagen, and is now actively seeking its first fully private investment.

Advice for Future Participants

For spin outs and researchers considering NIF, the team has clear advice:

“Say yes. And then prepare. Know who you’re talking to. Investors care about the commercial potential, not just the science,” said Thomas.

“And don’t see NIF as a one-off. It’s a stepping stone. What you create for NIF—your pitch, your poster—will evolve and can be used again and again,” added Torben.

They also emphasized the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone:

“Most people aren’t natural extroverts. But you have to talk to strangers. That’s how you learn, and that’s how you grow,” said Torben.

Looking Ahead

Gefjon Pharma’s next big milestone is partnering with a private investor to take their innovation to the next level. When looking back at NIF, they see it as an important part of Gefjon Pharma’s journey:

“NIF helped us realize who we are, what we want, and how to tell our story. That’s invaluable,” said Thomas.

We’re excited to follow Gefjon Pharma’s journey and look forward to another year of Nordic Innovation Fair, where we gather the best early-stage innovation form the Nordics. Join us at Industriens Hus in Copenhagen on 23-23 September 2025.

Sometimes, it is all about being at the right place at the right time.

That is exactly what happened at Nordic Innovation Fair 2023, when Petri Laine and Hugh Simons found themselves in the same room.

Hugh Simons, an exhibitor from the Technical University of Denmark, was pitching his project, Clair Scientific, and Petri Laine was all ears.

‘My initial thought was that if they can prove that this works, it has the makings of being something big in a market where there hasn't been that much of innovation for years,’ says Petri Laine, partner at Innovestor.

Each year at Nordic Innovation Fair, 30 early-stage research-based business opportunities are selected to pitch in front of a panel of international investors, and at the 2023 event, Petri Laine was chairing a session for Medtech & Diagnostics, giving him a front row seat to Hugh Simons presentation of automated, cloud-connected microscopes for life science and nano science research.

‘After the session, we had a coffee and a talk about my ambitions with Clair Scientific and our fundraising strategy. We promised to connect after Nordic Innovation Fair,’ says Hugh Simons, the CEO and Co-founder of Clair Scientific.
And so, they did. Petri Laine made a note to himself to get in touch with Hugh Simons after six months, and in March 2024, they sat down to review the progress of Clair Scientific.

‘Petri had close contacts with Danmarks Eksport- og Investeringsfond (EIFO), who ultimately led the investment, so when we realized this, it just seemed natural to discuss the practicalities of working together. We finalized the investment over the Summer of 2024,’ Hugh Simons explains.

In November 2024, the deal was officially announced between EIFO, Innovestor and Clair Scientific for 12 million DKK – a little over a year after Hugh Simons and Petri Laine had met at Nordic Innovation Fair.

Petri Laine, who has attended Nordic Innovation Fair four times and has seen his share of pitches, says:

‘The aim of the pitch is to get a meeting, so know your storytelling and explain what problem the company is solving and what the commercial implications could be. Raise curiosity.’ He continues:

‘A classic mistake is to do a deep dive on the science. With that, there is a danger that the presenter loses 80% of their audience within the first minutes.’

Hugh Simons made his pitch count, but that’s not the only thing, that he is taking with him from Nordic Innovation Fair.

’Perhaps my best advice is to be wary of following the advice of just one individual. In our case, what I think made the difference was to make as many relevant connections as possible. The Nordic investing community is a close network, meaning the “right” investor is likely only one or two degrees of separation away, no matter where you start from.’