 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Innovaatiorahoituskeskus Business Finland Business Finland Oy | |
 | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1983 (1983) |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Employees | 600 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of Employment and the Economy |
| Website | www |
Business Finland is a public organization under theFinnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. It was established on 1 January 2018, with the goal of attracting trade, tourism, and foreign investment, and providing funds for innovation[1] to Finland. And as such, Business Finland is also involved in funding Finnish space researches, under theNew Space Economy program,[2] as well as startup companies, underYoung Innovative Company funding program[3] among other projects. The organization is made up of two entities:Innovation Business Finland (agovernment agency) andBusiness FinlandOy (agovernment-owned corporation controlled by the agency).[4]
The predecessor of the agency wasTekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Finnish:Innovaatiorahoituskeskus Tekes), while the predecessor of the corporation was Finpro Oy. Tekes was founded in 1983 through the President of Finland,Mauno Koivisto, who ratified the Act on the founding of Tekes. "Tekes" is derived fromTekniikan edistämiskeskus (Center for Advancement of Technology), also translated asNational Technology Agency orTechnology Development Centre. The centre was founded primarily in response to aneconomic recession during the 1970s. At its formation in 1983, it employed twenty people. It began researchingenergy technology in 1995.
In 2009, Tekes invested €579 million in 2,177 projects, of which €343 million was directed to the enterprise projects and €236 million to universities, polytechnics and public research institutes.[5]
In 2018, theSipilä government fused together Tekes and Finpro Oy, a government-owned corporation for the promotion of exports. The target was to streamline business services and make sure that theservice chain is not broken when a company proceeds from R&D to export.[4] The initiative also sought to gain business investors from abroad in addition to those at home.[6]
There are currently 680 specialists working for Business Finland at 16 offices in Finland, and 42 abroad.[7] Business Finland is a public-sector operator that is part of a larger network called Team Finland, which has a broader goal of bringing "together all public internationalization services".[8] Business Finland also has a board of directors, which includes people familiar with the industry. The board of directors also includes a representative of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. As of 2021, this position is occupied by the vice-chairman, Petri Peltonen who is also the Undersecretary of State for Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The board of directors decides on the allocation of funding, while the executive director acts as the Board's representative. The composition of the Leadership Team and the board of directors is as follows:
Business Finland functions as a funding agency forresearch and technology development. Receivers of the funding are universities, polytechnics, research institutes such asVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, theEuropean Space Agency,small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large corporations, and public bodies. In enterprise projects, funding is given to transform research-stage ideas into viable businesses and may combine direct unconditional funding withguaranteed loans conditional on the success of the resulting business.
Finpro and Tekes merged into Business Finland on January 1, 2018. The staff more or less retained their roles within the newly formed organization, with restructuring only occurring towards the end of the summer. Pekka Soini, the then-Director General of Tekes, became Director of the newly formed organization. Business Finland also launched the website atwww.businessfinland.fi[1] on 8 January 2018 where its plans for the future were outlined.[6]
Business Finland remained at the same Tekes and Finpro addresses both internationally and in Finland. At Helsinki it was located at Team Finland House at Porkkalankatu 1.[6]
The agency is based inHelsinki, and is represented in fourteen regionalEmployment and Economic Development Centres (also known as theTE-keskus) throughout the country. The agency also has offices inBeijing,Brussels,Tokyo,Silicon Valley,Hong Kong, and theDistrict of Columbia.
60°12′0″N24°55′35″E / 60.20000°N 24.92639°E /60.20000; 24.92639
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
