Set up a business
Set up a business in Helsinki
Set up your business in Finland and enter the European market through the Nordics – the easy way. Take advantage of our Business Advisors to help you when navigating Helsinki’s ecosystem, introduce you to key players in the market and provide you with practical advice on how to establish yourself here.
Join one of the most innovative business ecosystems in the world.
Business Finland will evaluate whether your business plan and the team meet the criteria for fast growth startup business. This must be submitted on behalf of a team, with one team member designated as the main point of contact. Submit your Eligibility Statement through the Enter Finland Platform and attach passport copies and CVs of all team members.
Read more:
If you have received a positive Eligibility Statement from Business Finland, you can now apply for a residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service. Each team member will need to submit their application individually through the Enter Finland Platform. The main point of contact will be responsible for sharing the statement with all team members.
If you decide to continue living in Finland after your residence permit expires, you will need to apply for an extension. You can apply for your Extended Startup Permit directly at the Finnish Immigration Service. You do not need to apply for a new eligibility statement from Business Finland. If the Finnish Immigration Service requires a renewed Eligibility Statement, they will contact Business Finland.
Read more:
- How to extend your residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service
- More information on residence permits in Finland
Apply in four steps
Setting up a business in Finland is an easy process that takes only a couple of weeks to complete.
Want to grow your startup in Finland?
The Finnish Startup Permit makes it possible for international growth entrepreneurs to build a startup company in Finland and to become part of Finland’s vibrant startup ecosystem. The permit is meant for innovative startup founders coming from countries outside the European Union.
Thinking about raising funding?
We connect Finnish startups with international investors. We have strong relationships with angels, VCs and CVCs, and we regularly deliver hand selected deal flow for investors based on their requirements. Submit your startup to get discovered! Should you have any questions, send us an inquiry via the contact form.
Why Helsinki
Helsinki is a thriving business hub that has a stable and innovative business environment along with a high quality and talented work force. Setting up a business in Helsinki takes only a couple of weeks and the vast majority of services are in English with plenty of information available. Helsinki Partners, along with other public organisations, backed by the City of Helsinki, are here to ease your entry into the market. Besides, you will get to enjoy one of the most equal capitals in the world and the world’s best city for establishing a healthy work-life balance. Read below the top 5 reasons why you should start a company in Helsinki. If you’re curious for more reasons why Helsinki might be the right place for you, find them here.
1. Helsinki as a Service
What sets Helsinki apart is great access to services for young and established companies alike. Helsinki-as-a-service comes in many flavours, like fast 4G across the whole country, innovative testbeds, proactive city and government organisations, and much more.
© Jules Hatfield & Christine Williams
2. Great access to talent
Helsinki offers a huge pool of technical and creative talent. And for an employer, the timing is perfect. Growth companies like Wolt, Smartly, and Supercell have trained Helsinki’s tech workers what real growth looks like, and they’re hungry for new opportunities.
© Jussi Hellsten
3. An attractive business environment
The Finnish business environment is based on trust, facts, sharing and frankness. It has ranked as the most attractive environment in the world, and in the EU, thanks to such factors as security, extensive IP rights, and consistent political stability. Helsinki is an innovative region full of enthusiastic people, and the city’s startup hub is the 8th most valuable in Europe – which is constantly growing year by year.
© Maija Astikainen
4. A collaborative ecosystem
Helsinki offers a huge pool of technical and creative talent. And for an employer, the timing is perfect. Growth companies like Wolt, Smartly, and SHelsinki is an innovative region full of enthusiastic individuals who love to solve problems together with likeminded people. Information is shared both peer-to-peer and between academic, private and public organisations. Open data and public testbeds bring innovators together and help them learn from each other.
© Mikael Ahlfors / Keksi Agency
5. A nurturing environment for early-stage businesses
Finland-based startups benefit from public funding programs and cost-free coaching provided by organisations such as NewCo Helsinki. They also receive continuous support from several publicly and privately funded incubators and accelerators as well as from nurturing communities such as Maria 01. Moreover, Helsinki is the home of Slush – the largest single gathering of venture capital in Europe with over 1,500 investors to match and meet with.
© Jussi Hellsten
Want to get your idea off the ground?
Our friends at NewCo Helsinki are happy to offer confidential business advice for starting a company, developing new business, growing a business and internationalising Finnish startups.
The voice of customers doing business in Helsinki
Explore the thriving business ecosystem and get to know some of the international companies that have made Helsinki their home.
A word from a customer
Our business model requires a highly efficient patent law infrastructure and related capabilities, a global mindset, a diverse group of technology-driven companies (SMEs and multinationals), and a venture capital infrastructure. We find everything we need in Finland, and particularly in Helsinki.
William Carbone
Co-founder & CEO at The Adjacent Possible
© Peter Forsgard
Contact info
If you are interested in setting up and starting a business in the capital of Finland, our dedicated team is ready to help you deep dive into the Helsinki business ecosystem. Contact us to get you started.
Johanna Huurre
Director, Strategic Initiatives
Juha Paakkola
Director, Health Capital Helsinki
Kaisu Sutinen
Senior Advisor, Health Capital Helsinki
Maria Melnikova
Senior Advisor, Growth and Investments
Sandeep Shah
Senior Advisor, Global Enterprise Accounts
Sonja Malin
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
Xin Wang 王昕
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
Sami Häikiö
Senior Advisor, Investment Promotion
Panu Maulaheimo
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
Linda Emelianov
Senior Advisor, Growth and Investments
Vladimir Chepurnoy
Senior Advisor, Growth and Investments
Contact Helsinki Partners
Your thoughts
If you are interested in learning more about Helsinki and its possibilities – please contact us via the form here. We’ll make sure to get back to you within a few working days.