The Bridge of Trust

The Bridge of Trust is a volunteer-led Finnish initiative. It helps Ukraine by channelling funding into local startups. The focus is on early-stage investments from European investors.

In September 2024, The Bridge of Trust invited investors to Lviv, Ukraine. The event took place at IT Arena, a leading technology conference in Eastern Europe. The Bridge of Trust organized a startup pitch competition. Ten companies were selected from over one hundred applicants.

To attract investors from multiple countries, the team needed professional communications support. Avidly was asked to help with messaging, visibility and outreach.

The team needed to convince international investors to travel to Ukraine. Flying into the country was not allowed. Travel had to be arranged over land. This created a higher barrier for participation.

Our strategy was built on one key insight: trust is the true currency in high-stakes environments. We needed to create both the awareness and the emotional reassurance that TBOT was a serious, impactful, and safe initiative worth joining.

1. Own media for clarity and continuity – Establish a strong, consistent home base of messaging through TBOT’s LinkedIn presence.
2. Earned media for credibility – Leverage credible, high-trust publications in key investor regions to validate TBOT’s mission and reach decision-makers directly. Together, these pillars aimed to make TBOT visible, credible, and impossible to ignore.

On the owned media front, we transformed TBOT’s LinkedIn channel into a clear, compelling hub for its message: What is our mission? What are we trying to achieve? Who are we calling to join us and why now? TBOT team members actively amplified this content across social media, adding reach and authenticity through personal engagement.

For earned media, we targeted startup and business press, especially in the Baltics, Poland, and Scandinavia, with a tighter focus on the Baltics due to time constraints. Ukrainian media visibility was also prioritized to create local buzz. Investor travel required detailed planning. Since air travel was not an option, all delegates entered Ukraine over land. The logistics were handled in close coordination with the team.

Despite limited time, our efforts delivered reach where it mattered: potential investor circles.

Beyond strong social visibility, Avidly secured meaningful media hits in key markets. Latvia’s national broadcaster LSM produced a podcast and multi-platform feature on TBOT. Ukraine’s leading startup outlet AIN covered the pitch event on site. TBOT also received spontaneous 
coverage in international defence-related publications and was featured by Finland’s national broadcaster YLE.

In total, over 100 investors from 15 countries joined the initiative. Latvia and Finland led the delegations. TBOT founder Jussi Muurikainen estimates that by the end of 2025, these investors will have funnelled €5–6 million into Ukrainian startups, with projections reaching €100 million over the next decade.

Avidly’s work was delivered pro bono in the summer and early autumn of 2024. The project earned recognition both in Finland and internationally: shortlisted at Finland’s biggest advertising competition Vuoden Huiput 
and awarded twice at the largest PR award programme in the world the SABRE Awards 2025 in London in the categories of best Start-Up Marketing Campaign and best Corporate Philanthropy and Fund-Raising.