List of communities in Finland to build your network

Building your network is key and luckily, Finland has a lot to offer! From job search support and coding groups to startup hubs and women-led communities, there's something for everyone.

Know a great community we missed? Drop it in the comments!

Job search support

• Nerdsbay – nerdsbay.com – helps specialists from around the world relocate to Finland, obtain residence permits, and work legally under the EOR (Employer of Record) model

• Herizon – herizon.io – fast-tracking international talent into Finland's workforce through mentoring, career support, and inclusive programs designed to help you thrive in the Nordic way of life

• Espoo Career Club – espoo.fi

• Spouse Program – spouseprogram.fi

• Get Hired in Finland – gethiredinfinland.com

• The Shortcut – theshortcut.org/services/coaching – multilingual mentoring and career coaching

• ECS Community: clicks to careers – linkedin.com/groups/12871280/ – group sharing job opportunities and career tips

• Job Market Finland (TE-palvelut) – tyomarkkinatori.fi/en

• Talent Helsinki – talenthelsinki.fi

Startups

• START Helsinki – starthelsinki.com – events for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs

• Slush – slush.org

• Maria 01 – maria.io – startup campus in Helsinki with community events and founder meetups

• Kiuas – kiuashub.com – accelerator program with open events for aspiring founders

• Tribe Tampere – tribetampere.com – startup hub and support network for entrepreneurs in Tampere

• Web3 Summit Helsinki – web3summithelsinki.org

For women

• Mothers in Business – mothersinbusiness.fi

• Auroras verkosto – auroras.fi/tule-mukaan/ryhmat – mentoring for women in Finnish (basic language level required)

• Tech Nordic Advocates (TNA) – technordicadvocates.org – network supporting women in tech and startups across the Nordics

• IWWOF (International Working Women of Finland) – iwwof.com

Internationals

• Culture Cooperative TIcAS – linktr.ee/tampereinterculturalart – creative industry and multicultural community events

• Think Africa – thinkafrica.fi – mentorship and support for international talents in Finland

• Fenix Finland – fenixfinland.fi/general-8 – support services for Ukrainian and Russian speakers

• Expat Finland – expat-finland.com – helpful info on living, working, and adapting to Finland

Games

• We in Games – weingames.fi – community focused on equity and inclusion in the gaming industry

• Game Designers Finland – meetup.com/game-designers-finland

• IGDA – IGDA Finland is the local Finnish chapter of the International Game Developers Association - igda.fi

Coding

• Hive – hive.fi

• Mimmit koodaa – mimmitkoodaa.fi – supports women learning to code or entering the tech world

• codebar.io – codebar.io/helsinki – coding workshops for underrepresented people in tech

• HelsinkiJS – helsinkijs.org – JavaScript developer meetups in Helsinki

Cybersecurity

• Women4Cyber – women4cyberfinland.com – for women exploring careers in cybersecurity

• HelSec – helsec.fi – local community for cybersecurity professionals

Marketing

• Markkinointikollektiivi – markkinointikollektiivi.fi – one of the largest Finnish marketing communities. Offers events, podcasts, a newsletter, and an active Slack group (mostly in Finnish, but often includes English-speaking speakers and content).

• Content Marketing Breakfast (by PING Helsinki) – pinghelsinki.fi – networking breakfasts and professional events for those working in content, influencer marketing, and branding.

• Myynnin ja markkinoinnin ammattilaiset – mma.fi – the largest professional organization for sales and marketing experts in Finland, offering events, training, and career support (with some resources available in English)

HR

• TA Cafe Helsinki – linkedin.com/groups/9323219/ – meetups centered around Talent Acquisition

• Helsinki HR Community – linkedin.com/company/helsinki-hr-community/

• HeRo – linkedin.com/groups/10046653/

Other

• Women in Life Sciences – blogs.helsinki.fi/wmn-network/ – network supporting women in science and research

• Customer Success Café – eventbrite.ie/e/customer-success-cafe-helsinki-afterwork-meetup-tickets-520411042437 – occasional in-person meetups for CS professionals

• ADP List – adplist.org – free global mentoring platform for designers and tech professionals

• DataTribe Collective – datatribe.fi – community for data specialists: analysts, engineers, and more

Where else to look for meetups?

• Meetup.com – meetup.com/cities/fi/helsinki – local meetups in tech, business, design, and beyond

• Epicenter Helsinki – epicenterhelsinki.com – innovation hub with regular events and networking

• Eventbrite – eventbrite.com/d/finland--helsinki/events – wide range of events from workshops to festivals

• Tapahtumat Helsingissä – myhelsinki.fi/fi/tapahtumat/ – official Finnish event calendar for cultural and public happenings

• Helsinki Think Company – thinkcompany.fi/

• Familia ry – familiary.fi/events.html

• Events in Tampere – tapahtumat.tampere.fi/en-FI

Huge thanks to our friends at Herizon for the great recommendations and inspiration for this list! We've also added a few of our own favourites to make it as helpful as possible 💙