The joint call for applications announced by Business Finland and the German ZIM programme has the aim of inspiring market-oriented joint projects between small and medium-sized enterprises. The call for applications is currently ongoing and will conclude on 15 November 2019.
The projects should involve the development of competitive and innovative products, services and processes. Business Finland will fund the Finnish companies, while German participants will be funded through the ZIM program (Zentrale Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand), which has received excellent feedback and is Germany's key source of innovation funding for SMEs. Germany is offering huge opportunities for digital health companies – one example being Digital Health City Berlin as worldwide leading hotspot in this sector.
Each joint project should include two small or medium-sized enterprises – one from each country i.e. Finland and Germany – which will make a significant investment in the project. Project consortia may also include other participants and participants from other countries. In Finland, input from research organisations should be acquired through subcontracting.
Applications should be submitted on Friday 15 November 2019 at the latest. More detailed information on the application process is provided in the complete call announcement. The applicants should fill in the joint project proposal application form. This should be attached to Business Finland's online funding application that must be submitted by all Finnish applicants. In the online funding application on the Summary please write ZIM Call in the free-form cover note field.