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February 25, 2022

Finnish start-up ecosystem: Free work spaces at Maria01 for our Ukrainian friends

By Evli Growth Partners
Riku Asikainen
Managing Partner
An open letter to our Ukrainian friends.

Dear friends,

It is hard to fathom the monstrosity that Russia’s regime and its autocratic leader are sowing in Ukraine as we speak. This war is not limiting itself to only Ukrainian citizens, but this is a gross violation of international justice and is affecting the daily lives of ours, investors sitting safely at our home offices. We are deeply worried about all our Ukrainian employees in our portfolio companies and their families amidst the attack led by Putin.

We have today agreed with Maria 01 that anyone with a Ukrainian passport can use the space on our account if they need a calm place to work and access to the internet. One will not need an investment, a company, or any specific reason to use this, a Ukrainian passport will suffice. The users will adhere to the terms and guidelines of Maria 01 and the desks and space are given out based on the daily capacity. If you have any questions regarding practicalities about working at Maria 01, please contact their Head of Community, Anu Kantola via anu[at]maria.io or +358 40 198 4824.

We are committed to bearing all costs that may incur from this to Maria 01. Helping Ukraine is the one co-investment we need to do today.

Riku Asikainen, Evli Growth Partners
Inka Mero, Voima Ventures
Ilkka Kivimäki, Maki VC
Juhani Polkko, San Francisco Agency
Ville Simola, Maria 01
Patrik Backman, OpenOcean
Matti Vänskä, NGP Capital

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