Supporting Finnish companies in Ukraine since the start of the invasion

10.09.2026

When I joined Finnpartnership in early 2023, the programme had, just a few months earlier, received its first application for Ukraine since the start of the invasion. When, towards the end of the year, I was offered the opportunity to take charge of the programme’s activities related to Ukraine, I could not have imagined at the time that Ukraine would become the most popular target country for Finnish companies’ projects in the following years, and that many local organisations would become key partners for Finnpartnership.

By September 2026, Business Partnership Support has been granted to over 80 projects in Ukraine, totalling nearly 14 million euros. This represents around one-third of all funding granted between 2022 and 2026. Many companies have stated that the funding we have provided has played a decisive role in sharing the risk and in their decision to enter the Ukrainian market.

A big thank you for this goes to Ville Tavio, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Without the additional funding granted, such extensive support for Finnish companies would not have been possible. Although supporting projects in Ukraine initially raised some concerns at both Finnpartnership and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, there were no practical obstacles to it, as Business Partnership Support and its associated services are designed to be suitable even for conflict and crisis zones.

The first company to receive the financial grant in Ukraine was RTL Inductives in early 2023. The company applied for funding to relocate its production from Russia to Ukraine. We now know, based on information gathered from monitoring the project, that the relocation of production from Russia went according to plan and that RTL Inductives’ business has progressed well in Ukraine.

Majority of projects in Ukraine have achieved their objectives

As a project analyst, I have reviewed applications and projects from nearly 60 Finnish companies at close quarters, as well as a large number of applications and projects handled by colleagues from a slightly greater distance. It has quickly become apparent that Ukraine is attracting a very different range of Finnish companies to what we at Finnpartnership had previously been accustomed to. With Ukraine, the construction and energy sectors have emerged as the most popular sectors in the projects we support, alongside the IT, education and healthcare sectors, which previously led the way.

The high level of interest in Ukraine has also generated some unfortunate side effects. For example, the rejection rate for applications focusing on Ukraine has been slightly higher than for those focusing on other target countries. The most common reasons for rejection have been the applicant’s insufficient financial resources and poor financial situation, as well as a lack of experience in the project’s sector. This has led to a new phenomenon whereby a project may have been largely dependent on the expertise of the consultants or external experts involved, as well as on their work on the project. Projects implemented entirely by consultants do not comply with the terms and conditions of Business Partnership Support; rather, the company should have its own genuine capacity to establish itself in Ukraine and the desire to implement the project on the ground itself.

Despite these challenges, it has been a pleasure to see that, based on discussions with clients, the vast majority of projects targeting Ukraine have achieved their objectives, and the companies have got their business off the ground. Good examples include Peikko Group, Niemi Palvelut and Sirav, whose success stories can be read on our website.

More than 80 Finnish companies supported through Finnpartnership are already operating in Ukraine, and each is progressing at its own pace. The most important thing is that the companies have taken that first step, and it is precisely in taking that step that Finnpartnership wants to – and is able to – assist them.