Nokia and Microsoft have selected 30 winning start-ups for their AppCampus mobile acceleration program. Each company will receive an investment of €20,000-70,000 and training, coaching and marketing support from Nokia and Microsoft. In return, the apps they produce have to be exclusive to Windows Phone and Nokia platforms for six months.

AppCampus is a joint venture between the two corporations – each of whom have pledged to invest €18m over three years – and Finlands Aalto university. In the three months since it started accepting entries, it has attracted over 900 submissions, from start-ups in more than 60 countries. 

The majority of start-ups picked for AppCampus have not yet been announced – partially because many of them are still in stealth mode. AppCampus has named mobile job-search service Sihti and medical app Modz, which helps young users measure and manage blood sugar levels. Start-up Mendzapp, which already has a couple of lightweight apps under its belt, has also outed itself as part of the program.

“There are already some gems in this group of applications and we expect them to hit the Windows Phone Marketplace starting this autumn”, says Mr. Pekka Sivonen, Head of AppCampus at Aalto University. “We are astonished by how well-received the program has been on a global level. We will capitalize on that in the near future by taking the program to the next level and introducing new partners and an extended geographical reach this autumn.”