What if a software could foster world peace?

This article is part of a series showcasing six startups at Aalto University's at Slush Helsinki 2019.

Inforglobe CEO Mikaeli Langinvainio says, ‘We aim to offer common understanding in demanding decision-making situations where you do not always have the one right choice or decision of what to do, so it is important to understand the different perspectives which engage people into the decision-making process’.

The company was founded in early 2016 by Langinvainio and Juha Törmänen as a spinout from Aalto University’s Systems Analysis Lab and the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), before setting up camp at the Aalto Startup Centre.

Langinvainio explains that each member of the team, which also includes Aalto University's Key Account Manager and Advisor Sami Kärnä , Inforglobe's Key Account Manager Valtteri Frantsi and Inforglobe's Junior Software Developer Joonas Rajamäki, offers rich past experience which has been crucial to Inforglobe’s solution, ‘Before starting the company, we’ve worked in many different countries, building common understanding and working on crisis and peace negotiations in some of the most difficult of environments such as Africa, the  Middle East and Europe’.

From out of all that experience, the team found new ways of fostering dialogue by experimenting and utilising innovative approaches with modern technology. This culminated in the development of a long-term strategy for Yemen peace process as well a national reconciliation plan in Iraq.

Traditional survey tools are expensive and lack clarity in presenting the results and how they can be helpful for decision-making. They may allow substantial analysis, but interpreting the results is very time-consuming, and they generally can’t tackle complex issues.

Currently, Inforglobe is heavily focussed on the construction sector as they have noticed a considerable need for construction projects (especially larger ones) to improve collaboration as there is a constant struggle with the complexity of the projects. The construction sector is a perfect example of the need for effective mediation in the various stages of project management, such as risk management, decision-making, and project evaluation.r, management consulting, state security, public procurement, corporate strategy/foresight, enterprise risk management.

Langinvainio explains that scale-up and market validation have proved to be a positive challenge to face. As they go onwards and upwards, they see more and more avenues and possibilities for their solution,  ‘Our tools and methods have raised interest in so many different sectors. Quite simply: you identify your stakeholders and define your knowledge needs, but there are so many imaginable ways to do this depending on the organisation and the process’.

Inforglobe, founded in 2016

Founders:
Juha Törmänen - Chief Technical Officer
Mikaeli Langinvainio - Chief Executive Officer

Major company milestones:

• Inforglobe’s software is being used in 15 most difficult conflict resolution processes including Iraq, Yemen and Ukraine helping conflict parties to assess and agree on issues and develop roadmaps for peace agreements
• Inforglobe’s software is used for decision making in large construction projects with a combined value of over 3 billion euros saving a lot of money and time 
  https://www.inforglobe.com/