The video game company 1939 Games received the Growth Sprout award after the company's turnover increased sixteenfold last year.
From left: Ingólfur Ævarsson, CMO of 1939 Games, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Árni Sigurjónsson, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, one of the founders of 1939 Games, Sigurður Hannesson and Hekla Arnardóttir, chairman of the board of 1939 Games.
The company 1939 Games has been awarded the Icelandic Growth Sprout of the Year, which is a recognition for the strong development of this start-up company.
Foreign Minister Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson handed over the Growth Sprout award this morning on September 2nd, 2021, at Kaffi Flóra in Grasagarðurinn in Laugardalur, Reykjavik.
1939 Games is a video game company that publishes the digital card game KARDS, a World War II themed game. The company's turnover increased by 1466% between 2019 and 2020, when turnover went from just over ISK 15 million to ISK 244 million. This is a record growth in turnover since this award was first delivered in 2007.
Two other companies, Coripharma and Algalíf, also received recognition. Coripharma specializes in the manufacture and development of medicines for other pharmaceutical companies around the world and developing its own medicines. Coripharma's turnover increased by 392% between 2019 and 2020, from ISK 180 million to ISK 888 million or almost fivefold.
Algalíf received special recognition for a turnover of ISK 1 billion for the first time. Algalíf produces algae in high-tech water systems and processes the astaxanthin used in food supplements and cosmetics worldwide. The company increased its turnover from ISK 625 million to over ISK 1.2 billion in one year.
Vaxtarsprotinn (the Growth Sprout award) is a collaborative project of the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, the Association of Start-up Companies, Reykjavík University, and the Icelandic Research Center. This is the 15th time that the awards have been given. The project aims to draw attention to the good results of start-up companies in rapid growth and thus create increased interest and understanding of the development work of these companies. The jury consisted of Gísli Hjálmtýsson for Reykjavík University, Lýður Skúli Erlendsson for Rannís, Fida Abu Libdeh for the Association of Start-up Companies and Sigríður Mogensen for the Confederation of Icelandic Industries.
The following companies have received the Growth Sprout:
- 2007 - Marorka
- 2008 - Mentor
- 2009 - Mentor
- 2010 - Nox Medical
- 2011 - Handpoint
- 2012 - Valka
- 2013 - Meniga
- 2014 - DataMarket
- 2015 - Kvikna
- 2016 - Eimverk
- 2017 - Kerecis
- 2018 - Kaptio
- 2019 - Carbon Recycling International
- 2020 - Kerecis
- 2021 - 1939 Games
The following companies have been recognized for good growth:
- 2007 - Gagarín, Stiki, Stjörnu-Oddi
- 2008 - Betware, Valka, Kine
- 2009 - Naust Marine, Gogogic, Saga Medica
- 2010 - Valka, Hafmynd, Menn og Mýs
- 2011 - Marorka, Trackwell, Gogogic
- 2012 - Kvikna, ORF Líftækni, Thorice
- 2013 - Controlant, Nox Medical, Lceconsult
- 2014 - Valka, Nox Medical, Schedule
- 2015 - Kvikna, Valka
- 2016 - Lauf Forks, Orf Líftækni, Valka
- 2017 - TeqHire, Valka, Kvikna
- 2018 - Kerecis, Gangverk, Orf-Bíftækni
- 2019 - Taktikal, Kerecis
- 2020 - Carbon Recycling International, Pure North Recycling
- 2021 - Coripharma, Algalíf
From the delivery of the awards. In the bottom row from left are Jónína Guðmundsdóttir, CEO of Coripharma, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, one of the founders of the 1939 Games, Hekla Arnardóttir, Chairman of the Board of the 1939 Games, and Orri Björnsson, CEO of Algalíf. In the top row from left are Sigríður Mogensen, director of SI's industry and intellectual property department, Ingólfur Ævarsson, CMO of 1939 Games, Árni Sigurjónsson, chairman of SI, Sigurður Hannesson, CEO of SI, Fida Abu Libdeh, chairman of the Association of Start-up Companies, and Lýður Skúli Erlendsson from Rannís.
— Published in Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic)
