Maritime Stars and ShippingLab partner to strengthen Danish maritime entrepreneurship

Two prominent maritime players are joining forces to create greater synergy and innovation in Danish maritime entrepreneurship.

The successful entrepreneurship programme Maritime Stars has partnered with ShippingLab, a collaboration expected to benefit both parties and boost Danish maritime innovation.

Over the years, Maritime Stars has supported numerous maritime startups through its tailored accelerator programmes, helping them establish themselves as well-founded businesses. The initiative, led by Business Hub Northern Denmark (Erhvervshus Nordjylland) and Danish Maritime with support from the Danish Maritime Fund, has become a key player in maritime entrepreneurship. In spring 2024, Maritime Stars began a new three-year project period, and project manager Allan Hejslet expects the new partnership with ShippingLab to amplify its impact:

“We look forward to our accelerator participants benefiting from ShippingLab’s project activities. This collaboration will undoubtedly strengthen our outreach to established companies, bring more industry expertise into play, and enhance our visibility among maritime startups, ensuring they are aware of the support we offer,” says Allan Hejslet.

ShippingLab is equally enthusiastic about the partnership and its opportunities:

“At ShippingLab, supporting development and innovation activities within Blue Denmark is a core mission. We’ve built solid experience in facilitating collaboration between diverse stakeholders with shared interests, and we’re excited to bring this expertise to maritime entrepreneurship. We look forward to exchanging knowledge and leveraging our extensive portfolio of projects to strengthen Maritime Stars and its participants,” says Magnus Gary, Project Director at ShippingLab.

Danish Maritime CEO Jenny Braat views the partnership as a positive step in supporting maritime startups, which often face challenging early stages:

“To succeed, many of these startups need to enter the global market directly. Even with an excellent idea, enhanced knowledge in areas such as financing or market readiness is crucial. By joining forces, ShippingLab and Maritime Stars provide startups with greater access to knowledge while offering established companies insights into the innovative thinking that startups bring. This is highly beneficial. Additionally, synergy between activities can reduce overlap, enabling a shared focus on creating growth and driving innovation across Denmark’s maritime ecosystem,” says Jenny Braat.

About Maritime Stars:

Maritime Stars is a three-year project aimed at strengthening collaboration between startups and established maritime companies while providing access to a network of mentors, experts, and investors to help scale maritime businesses.

Supported by the Danish Maritime Fund, the project is led by Business Hub Northern Denmark and Danish Maritime. Around 30 large maritime companies across Denmark participate as mentors and “lighthouse companies.”

For further information, contact:

Project Manager Allan Hejslet, Maritime Stars, mail: ahe@ehnj.dk / phone: +45 30 13 30 43

Project Director Magnus Gary, ShippingLab, mail: mg@shippinglab.dk / phone: +45 40 95 07 14