Business Finland’s customer companies RDI investments increased by 17 per cent – export growth was also faster than in other companies
Companies that have received innovation funding from Business Finland have increased their RDI investments twice as much as others. The export results also show a positive trend. The customer companies’ exports have increased by 31 per cent, as compared with an overall 22 per cent increase in Finland over the same period.
Companies that have received innovation funding from Business Finland have increased their own RDI investments. The increase is almost 17%. RDI investment growth has been double the overall growth rate of around 8%.
“The growth is attributable to the significant growth engine and leading projects we have funded. The results we have gained from the funding of the leading companies have been quite positive, which is why the funding scheme was expanded to also cover challenger companies. There are now 12 ongoing leading projects led by large companies and two challenger class leading projects. More challenger class funding will probably be granted in March,” says Nina Kopola, Director General of Business Finland.
Last year, Business Finland granted EUR 826 million to companies and research organizations for RDI projects. A total of EUR 503 million of innovation funding was granted to companies, of which SMEs accounted for 54%.
Customer companies’ exports grow faster than that of others – there are also 180 more companies exporting products to distant markets
The number of companies with exports to distant markets has increased, as 180 companies have expanded their exports to the markets with the help of Business Finland’s export promotion services. The result is based on an assessment of export promotion services, in which the companies investigated had received export promotion services during 2016–2019.
“We have a global view of the export market, and we are present in the most interesting marketplaces for Finland. We are engaged in constant dialogue with Finnish companies that are shaking up the national economy in a positively way. It is safe to say that Finnish exports have diversified and expanded beyond the main markets with the help of our services,” says Nina Kopola.
The exports of customer companies that received innovation funding in 2019 have increased by a total of EUR 10 billion over the past three years.
“Internationalization services and RDI funding together have a significant impact on growth, which is shown in the results. We have also succeeded in developing a customer-oriented approach, as our most internationally growth-oriented customer companies have rated the export promotion services they receive from us as excellent,” Kopola says.
The US has overtaken China in the number of business activations
Last year, the experts of Business Finland’s international network met with many more customer companies than in the previous year.
“In terms of market opportunities, the United States has for the first time become the leading country in terms of the number of business activations. Nearly 300 companies have been activated for market opportunities identified in the United States,” Kopola says.
China has traditionally been a leader in the number of business activations and continues to play a strong role. In terms of business activations, Germany is a strong export market for Finnish companies right after China. Europe as a whole is a large and already familiar export market for Finns.
Funding information available for all
In the future, the open data of the funding granted by Business Finland will be updated with new data once a month. Previously, the data was updated once a year. In order to facilitate access to the information and ensure the transparency of our operations, we will update the financial information to the public in the middle of each month.
More Information
Nina Kopola
Director General, Business Finland
+358 2950 55700
nina.kopola (at) businessfinland.fi
Miia Linnusmaa
Communications Manager, Business Finland
+358 50 5577 958
miia.linnusmaa (at) businessfinland.fi
