Would you like to know if your company’s solution would work in a developing market or if there is a demand for it?

Finnish organisations work with local partners in over 100 countries in the Global South. These NGOs have decades of experience of the countries’ practices, cultures, needs, local actors as well as national objectives, and networks.

At the end of the year, the organisations that receive programme-based support from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be formulating their programmes and looking for partners. This provides an opportunity for Finnish companies to agree on strategic partnerships and discuss multiannual cooperation with NGOs.

The NGOs’ existing projects in education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture, circular economy, and entrepreneurship provide collaboration opportunities for joint pilots and projects.

Benefit from NGOs’ expertise in target markets and risk management

Working with organisations can lead to innovative solutions and co-development, combining local knowledge from organisations with technology from businesses. In particular, NGOs have in-depth knowledge of local markets as well as customer needs and behaviour. This can help companies to better tailor their products and services to the target countries. Organisations’ expertise in sustainable development and responsible business can also enhance the reputation and competitiveness of companies.

Companies planning to do business in volatile regions can also benefit from the experience of NGOs in risk management and conflict resolution.

Finnpartnership supports collaboration between businesses and organisations by also providing grant funding to NGOs. Organisations can apply for Business Partnership Support for support function projects that are directly related to a company’s Business Partnership Support project. The NGO can use the financial grant to build the capacity of stakeholders related to the company’s project (e.g. on CSR and human rights issues), develop cooperation networks and pilot products and services.

If your company is interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration with Finnish NGOs, please contact Finnpartnership: fp@finnpartnership.fi or Fingo, the umbrella organisation for Finnish civil society organisations: mika.valitalo@fingo.fi.