Amount of support and target countries
The amount of financial grant offered by Finnpartnership is between EUR 15,000 and 400,000. Support is granted for Finnish operators’ projects in developing markets.
Support is granted for Finnish operators’ projects directed at developing countries listed by the OECD Development Assistance Committee. The amount of support offered by Finnpartnership is between EUR 15,000 and 400,000.
The project can consist of more than one project application, in which case each project application can receive a minimum of EUR 15,000. However, the total amount granted to a project consisting of more than one project application cannot exceed EUR 400,000. The project type ‘Feasibility study for an investment project’ has an exceptional upper limit of support of EUR 150,000.
The amount of support granted depends on the project’s support percentage, which is determined by the target country’s development stage and the applicant organisation’s size. The financial grant percentage is either 30, 50, 75 or 85% of the project’s approved costs. The minimum amount to be granted to the project application after the support percentage is EUR 15,000.
One project can have more than one target country. If a project is targeting countries with different support percentages, the smallest percentage shall apply to the project. In such case, the applicant should consider submitting separate project applications for each target country.
When choosing the target countries, the applicant should check any sanctions imposed by the EU or the UN. This information can be found on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the EU’s Restrictive Measures in Force document.
Detailed definitions of target countries and the size of the organisation
Definition of an SME
The applicant organisation size is based on the European Commission’s definition of SMEs. SMEs are organisations with fewer than 250 employees and whose annual turnover is no more than EUR 50 million and/or whose annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 43 million.
Extremely Fragile states
OECD maintains a database of fragile and extremely fragile states. The support percentage for projects in these states is 75%.
Checklist of support percentages for different target countries
Finnpartnership has compiled a country-specific list of support percentages for the most common project types.
De minimis and its impact on the amount of financial grant
De minimis aid means a public business subsidy regulated by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013. According to the regulation, an organisation may receive no more than EUR 300,000 of de minimis aid over the ongoing tax year and previous two tax years.
Business Partnership Support granted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is de minimis aid in principle, but in practice the majority of projects receiving Business Partnership Support are not subject to the de minimis regulation because the business activities take place outside the EEA. In general, only import-focused projects supported by Finnpartnership are subject to the de minimis regulation and, thus, the ceiling of financial grant granted to these projects is EUR 300,000.
If an organisation applying for Business Partnership Support considers that the support is not subject to the de minimis regulation, the organisation shall attach a separate form of the non-application of the de minimis regulation to its application. In the form, the organisation must explain why the de minimis regulation does not apply to its project. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs makes the final decision regarding the application of the regulation on a case-by-case basis.
Since Business Partnership Support is de minimis aid in principle, the organisation applying for financial grant shall provide information of any de minimis aid granted to it by ministries, authorities operating under a ministry, Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Business Finland, Finnvera Oyj, municipalities or regional councils over the ongoing tax year and the previous two tax years. The grant recipient is responsible for ensuring that the total amount of de minimis aid received from various sources does not exceed EUR 300,000.
De minimis aid is granted to operators in selected fields. For more information, please see the conditions of Business Partnership Support.
Application instructions and forms
The application for financial grant consists of basic information sheet and application forms, filled in through the e-Service, and mandatory appendices. If the applicant considers that the project is not subject to the de minimis regulation, they shall also submit a separate de minimis form with the application.
Payment and reporting instructions
Business Partnership Support is valid for 24 months from the date of the discretionary government transfer decision. The financial grant is paid retrospectively, and the recipient must request the payment with a separate reimbursement request before the expiry of Business Partnership Support.
Act on Public Procurement
A project with a state support percentage of over 50% is a public contracting entity and subject to the Act on Public Procurement. The applicant shall familiarise themselves with the Act’s impact on the implementation of the project. At their discretion, the applicant may also choose a support percentage of 50%.