Awards
Rise Finland, together with Aspia, presents three prestigious business awards.
RISE Growth Award
The award is granted to a company that has demonstrated exceptionally strong and bold growth over the past year, while maintaining a balance between expansion and profitability. The company serves as an example of how visionary leadership and ambitious execution create genuine economic growth, employment, and societal well-being..jpg "uule-niiles sara, kuvaaja hanna nuorgam(2)")
RISE Growth Award
Reindeer's Travel's
Reindeer’s Travel’s, a tourism and program services company operating in Saariselkä, has won the RISE Growth Award presented by Rise Finland and Aspia. The company offers reindeer and snowmobile safaris for international tourists. Over the past year, Reindeer’s Travel’s has demonstrated exceptionally strong and bold growth while maintaining a balance between expansion and profitability. In 2025, Reindeer’s Travel’s increased its revenue by 275% and improved its profit by 71% compared to the previous year. The number of employees also grew by 86%.
The RISE Growth Award leaves CEO Uule-Niiles Sara deeply humbled:
“The goal was to become the largest in Finland, and we achieved it.”
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RISE Growth Award honorable mention
Axitare
The Helsinki-based company Axitare Oy, which manufactures medication dispensing machines, has received an honorable mention in the RISE Growth Award presented by Rise Finland and Aspia. Axitare increased its revenue by 75% compared to the previous financial year. The company’s exceptional growth has also attracted the attention of private equity investors, and in spring 2025 Vaaka Partners became its majority owner. At the same time, a plan for international expansion was made, and at the end of last year the company opened its first subsidiary in Denmark. Axitare is now aiming to further accelerate its international growth.
Axitare manufactures all of its devices in Finland and, according to CEO Lasse Rousi, the company also intends to continue investing in the domestic market:
“Although the goal for the coming years is international expansion, Finland will remain an important home market.”
Boldest Advocate for Entrepreneurship
The award is granted to an individual who, over the past year, has demonstrated exceptional courage, impact, and activity in public discourse on entrepreneurship and economic growth.
Boldest Advocate for Entrepreneurship
Dr. Björn Wahlroos
The Boldest Advocate for Entrepreneurship award has been given to Dr. Björn Wahlroos, who has for decades been one of Finland’s most prominent and outspoken economic commentators. He has actively participated in public discussions on entrepreneurship, market economy, and economic policy, challenging Finns to reflect on the importance of economic growth, ownership, and risk-taking. Through his direct and often debate-provoking style, Dr. Björn Wahlroos has contributed to open and critical discussion about the role of entrepreneurship in Finland. He has also consistently emphasized the importance of growth, competitiveness, and entrepreneurial risk in driving economic renewal.