Finnish Innovation Meets Lisbon - Commu App Partners with Portugal's Capital to Empower Local Communities

Commu is an app designed to make asking for help and giving help easy. Through Commu, users can easily offer and request help with everyday tasks such as food-aid, peer-to-peer support, volunteering, pet-sitting and gardening. Commu fosters community engagement and provides users with the opportunity to network, receive support, and find assistance for various life situations. The founders of Commu, Sami Ekmark, Ronnie Nygren and Karoliina Kauhanen, are excited about the collaboration with the city of Lisbon.

"For the city of Lisbon, this partnership is an opportunity to enhance civic engagement, grow community bonds, and reduce social segregation," emphasizes Sami Ekmark, who has a background as a psychiatric nurse. 

"Commu is a tool that can promote inclusion, create meaningful everyday experiences, and bring together those who need help with those who can offer it, with just a few taps. By investing in empowering residents to ask for and offer help, we can generate significant cost savings in healthcare in the medium and long term."

Focus on Immigration and Social Challenges - Commu as a Tool for Strengthening Community in Lisbon

Commu has already helped tens of thousands of people in Finland to ask for and offer help, from individuals to corporate employees. Commu has nearly 100,000 users in Finland, Norway and Germany.

In the pilot phase of the project, Commu will focus particularly on the challenges faced by Lisbon's immigrant population, such as language barriers and difficulties with integration. The city has seen a rise in homelessness and challenges in immigrant integration with the local community. Commu provides a platform where locals and newcomers can help and request help from each other with ease. The goal is to promote integration, local language learning, and peer support.

"Partnering with the city of Lisbon is a fantastic opportunity for Commu. This is a unique chance to demonstrate how neighborhood communities can truly address major social problems like loneliness and immigrant integration. We’re thrilled that Commu can be a tool for this change," says Karoliina Kauhanen, founder of Commu. Kauhanen was the only female founder from Finland listed on the Forbes 30under30 in 2024.

Commu has advanced to the finals in Lisbon’s innovation project, and the partnership with Portugal's capital will begin immediately. Commu is also participating in the Social Impact Challenge, part of the Lisbon City Council's social innovation program. The competition is organized by Unicorn Factory Lisboa and supported by the European Innovation Council.