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The shift towards a bio-economy is one of the main focus areas of political initiatives aiming for a society relying on renewable biological sources while achieving economic growth. The forest sector is expected to contribute significantly to the development of the bio-economy which at the same time support rural development by creating new markets for advanced forest based products. However there is a need to focus more on the economic feasibility of such initiatives. Literature on bio-economy often implicitly addresses certain aspects connected to business models but is lacking a holistic perspective on the role of business models for the successful shift towards a bio-economy in the forest sector. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review about bio-economy business models in the forest sector to advance the understanding about increased and sufficient value generation necessary to persuade a shift towards bio-economy. This paper is based on a systematic review of 42 scientific journal articles and book chapters on forest based bio-economy. The first result of the article is a structured aggregation of the existing bioeconomy business models including the maturity and potential for large scale application. The main implication of the paper is an overall framework on how to facilitate the commercialization of bio-economy based business models through an improved understanding of all elements of the business model canvas to reach market acceptance of innovative business models. Recommendations for future research are presented in the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]