Together with our partners Kira Growth Program and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Urban Tech Helsinki Challenge 2024 connected innovative solution-makers with construction-related companies and experts in various fields.

Six teams participated in the challenge, but only two could be declared winners – one in the startup category and one in the student category. The challenge culminated in a final pitch event where the two winning teams were selected by a jury. The jury looked at things like readiness and how well the team’s idea fit the challenge brief. We are proud to announce that the winners of the Urban Tech Helsinki Challenge 2024 are Make A BIM and Ecomap!

Make A BIM fit the challenge brief the best, not to mention their excellent pitch. They also solve a big problem in the field of circular economy in the construction industry. The Ecomap team bravely set out to solve a major problem in the industry. They also made the most progress during the challenge. The jury particularly loved their solution for urban mining for resources.

But let’s ask the two teams what they thought of the challenge and what their plans are for the future!

What was your number one reason to apply?

Ecomap: “I can say two main reasons to apply. One was to get new network connections in the startup ecosystem that our team was interested in, the second was to get more experience in challenges, specifically in presenting our ideas and pitching.”

Make A BIM: “Our company uses AI to automatically create building information models from architectural drawings. We were already working on utilizing the AI to create models of pre-demolition buildings for the circular economy so this hackathon was a great fit for us.”

What was the challenge like? Any challenges or eureka-moments?

Ecomap: “We have started our project “Ecomap” specifically for this event, and used evaluation criteria from the challenge to target the goals for development. We were stuck in the middle with overthinking details, but the mentors helped us to move through and get the result.”

Make A BIM: “Since we were already working on this, the hackathon easily melded together with our existing plans. We spoke to lots of target customers and developed improved versions of our AI solution. We were also able to scale up our solution to a new pilot case. It was nice to network with other people working in the field during the hackathon and I hope we can collaborate with them in the future. Solving the built environment circular economy will require a lot of collaboration between companies and cities.”

Do you have any plans for the future? How will the journey continue after the victory?

Ecomap: “The future plans include gaining more experience and knowledge about the startup ecosystem, gathering new team members with diverse skills, and participating in new challenges.”

Make A BIM: “We have a roadmap that we’re following and will keep working hard to implement the technology to keep making BIM creation faster and more cost-efficient. Please get in touch with us if you want to collaborate or would like to hear more.”

Overall, the Urban Tech Helsinki Challenge 2024 was a great success. For the teams, the main motivation was to gather information and new contacts. We hope that these connections will help the teams to further develop their groundbreaking innovations!

Many thanks to our partners, the amazing mentors for their time and knowledge, the jury, and of course to all the teams that participated in the Urban Tech Helsinki Challenge 2024!