Recently, Nokia announced that it plans to invest $250 million in a new venture fund to promote mobile technology startups. This will be the third such fund for the Finnish phone maker via their Nokia Growth Partners firm (NGP), a global venture firm that invests in mobile hardware, startups, and digital advertising. According to its website, Nokia Growth Partners currently has $600 million under management.
Another way that Nokia sponsors technology development and startups is through its Nokia Bridge program, which helps fund former employees with an entrepreneurial spirit. The program, which started in 2011, helps people who have new ideas, but who need backing, which often leads to full funding and investments from venture capitalists and the like.
NGP offers “industry expertise, capital and an extensive network,” which helps spurs entrepreneurs to build “disruptive, industry-changing companies and take them to the global market.”
Nokia is seeking additional ways to stay competitive, and these investments are a part of that strategy. According to a report last December, Nokia will not hold the number one spot in the global cell phone business on an annual basis at the end of 2012—for the first time in 14 years. According the report, “Instead, Samsung is now the world's #1 mobile handset maker according to a new study from iSuppi.”
In a report that appeared on the same day by NewsEdge, it was announced that Nokia Growth Partners will continue to invest in high potential businesses within the mobile ecosystem in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
NGP also announced its expanded presence in China with the appointments of David Tang as managing director and Lu Guo as principal. NGP offices can be found throughout the US, Europe, India, and China.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman