Business Finland
Funds Finnish startups and research commercialization through early-stage grants and growth-phase innovation financing.
Business Finland is the public-sector innovation funding agency of Finland under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE). It was formed in 2018 by merging Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation) and Finpro (export promotion agency).
Business Finland supports innovative business growth in Finland through grants, loans, and ecosystem services. Its core grant programmes include:
1. **Tempo** — early-stage validation grant for Finnish startups under 5 years old, up to EUR 60,000. As of October 2025, the Tempo continuous call is paused due to grant authorisation constraints.
2. **Sprint Grant** — fixed-amount EUR 100,000 grant for small Finnish companies seeking rapid international growth, launched in March 2026 as a fixed-term 2026 call effectively replacing Tempo and YIC continuous calls.
3. **Research to Business (R2B)** — funding for Finnish public research organizations to commercialize research results into new businesses, total project budget EUR 500,000-800,000, 80% Business Finland funding, 1-2 year duration.
4. **Young Innovative Companies (YIC)** — three-phase grant package for high-potential startups under 5 years old: EUR 250,000 + EUR 250,000 + EUR 500,000 in successive funding decisions. YIC continuous call was paused in October 2025 alongside Tempo.
5. **Co-Creation, Co-Innovation, and other R&D grants** — funding for larger projects, consortia, and research-industry collaboration.
Business Finland also operates ecosystem services including international market expansion support, the Finlandization Finland mission, and the Visit Finland tourism promotion unit.
Business Finland is Finland's primary channel for funding under Horizon Europe co-investments and for distributing national innovation aid under EU State Aid rules. Finland is a Eurozone member; all Business Finland funding is denominated in EUR.
In 2025, Business Finland announced the temporary closure of several continuous innovation funding calls (Tempo, YIC, and others) due to grant authorisation constraints — a multi-year funding allocation issue affecting which calls can accept new applications. Sprint Grant launched in 2026 as the immediate fixed-term alternative for small companies.