Finnish companies play a natural role in development cooperation

21.01.2026

Finnpartnership is entering its 20th year of operation! In recent years, Finnish companies have actively utilised the programme’s support and accepted that development cooperation funds come with strict requirements and reporting obligations. Funding cannot be obtained without a commitment to positive development impacts, and we go through this together with companies in our popular monthly application workshops.

Companies are now more confident than before in implementing projects in developing markets and are achieving financial results while also generating development impacts: new jobs, environmental benefits, and training. The benefits are mutual.

More and more large companies and strong SMEs are getting involved. This year, the 2022 projects will submit their final reports. These projects have been paid a record 78% of the granted funding (€6.1 million). This means that the projects have been implemented as planned and that companies have been more determined than before in advancing their projects. Business Partnership Support is paid retrospectively, and companies only receive the funding against audited, actual expenses.

We look forward to future reports, which will also show the results of projects implemented in Ukraine. As the financial grant covers the project phases from the start of a business to its expansion, two-year projects are monitored for four years. This ensures that all jobs created and other impacts are accurately calculated.

Our latest development impact report covers projects that started in 2021. Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the results are impressive. The funding paid out was modest – €1.6 million (€2.95 million granted) – but the companies achieved the following: