Finnish SME sector well presented during the President’s state visits to South Africa and Namibia

The majority of Finnpartnership’s clients are Finnish SMEs. Often, the internationalisation of this sector is overshadowed by that of large companies. The average size of the commercial projects is relatively small, around €90 000, but the number of companies seeking to enter developing markets through the Finnpartnership programme is high, around 100 per year. The development impact generated by the companies is also significant. Companies create hundreds of new decent jobs every year, and successful projects result in companies investing many times more of their own money in the target countries than the total amount of support paid out to all companies.

During the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö’s state visits to South Africa and Namibia, Finnpartnership’s clients and the cooperation of the entire SME sector was well presented. Part of the business delegation were Finnpartnership’s clients AW-Energy, Block Solutions and AiRRhow, a consortium of several companies and educational institutions aiming to develop the Namibian aerospace sector. Being part of the business delegation gave credibility to our client companies and many of them told that they had been able to develop business partnerships further during the visits. The prestigious framework also opened doors to different ministries, and individual companies were able to benefit from the government funding partner status of the Finnpartnership programme.

Finnpartnership also established bilateral relations with the EU delegations in both countries, which facilitates our client companies aims in establishing business activities in the developing markets and getting involved in larger EU-funded projects. Finnpartnership funds pilot and demonstration projects by Finnish companies in the target countries and, through cooperation, helps them towards larger development programmes and investments. The Matchmaking service was also in demand and the first Namibian and South African companies looking for a partner in Finland have already started the process. New Matchmaking applicants are always published on Finnpartnership’s newsletter and can be found on our website.