Development impacts through business

The applicant is required to assess the project’s potential development impacts in the project application. The development impact questionnaire is a mandatory part of the application. The applicant must fill in the project’s development goals, impact on human rights and estimated impacts relating to the cross-cutting objectives of Finland’s Development Policy. The applicant must also agree in writing to comply with the target country’s legislation and international regulations, such as tax liability criteria.

Because Business Partnership Support is usually used at the initial state of the project, Finnpartnership analyses the development impacts the project is likely to generate if it is successful. In the development impact analysis, Finnpartnership examines the direct and indirect impacts of the project, which include impact on the target country’s employment level, gender equality, and workforce training. Projects that target upper middle income countries (UMIC) are expected to have direct development impacts.

Projects are scored based on the development impact analysis. Special attention is also paid to the potential negative impacts and positive environmental and social impacts. Projects can be assigned requirements and recommendations based on Finnpartnership’s analysis.

Finnpartnership has clear criteria regarding projects that are not eligible for Business Partnership Support. The final decision to grant Business Partnership Support to a project is made by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which utilises the analysis provided by Finnpartnership.

Business Partnership Support is paid retrospectively when the support recipient has completed tasks included in the project budget on a self-financed basis and submitted a separate request for payment. When the request for payment has been submitted, Finnpartnership assesses the progress of the project and, for example, whether the requirements and recommendations laid down for the project have been followed. Business Partnership Support shall only be paid if the recipient has complied with the support conditions and requirements set.

The support recipient shall provide an assessment of the project’s development impacts whenever they request the payment of Business Partnership Support. Because projects supported by Finnpartnership tend to take place at the initial stages of launching business activities, it is normal to not have produced any development impacts by the time a payment is requested. However, reports provided during the implementation of a project often indicate potential development impacts that have already been and could be achieved through the project.

Concrete development impacts are usually produced only after the support has expired, i.e. when the business activities or partnership have been fully established in the target country. In order to measure the development impacts generated, grant recipients are obliged to report to Finnpartnership by submitting a final report and responding to two follow-up surveys. Responding to the two follow-up surveys sent by Finnpartnership after the expiry of Business Partnership Support is mandatory. Finnpartnership uses the survey responses to prepare an annual public report showcasing the development impacts of projects it has supported.