Could I be an entrepreneur in Southwest Finland? by Jonathon Murphy

The threshold for starting your own business in Finland is often described as lower than in other countries. But what does that mean in practice?.

I recently met an international student at our customer service centre to discuss starting her own company. We went over a few basic issues – the type of service, marketing and funding – then I asked her about her motivation.

Her answer was that she has been frustrated with her lack of progress in finding a job – she has the skills to contribute to the Finnish economy but can’t find opportunities in her field. So why not start her own company to directly pitch her services to potential clients?

I have found this type of attitude towards entrepreneurship is fairly common for students in Finland, and universities here certainly encourage an entrepreneurial mindset. For example, from the first days of my own Master’s degree at the University of Turku, we were introduced to the Entrepreneurship unit, which offers business support for students regardless of their degree programme. This was a new concept for me, coming from a humanities background.

In my view this is one of the reasons why Finland is considered as a ‘low threshold’ country for starting your business. Entrepreneurship is accepted throughout Finnish society as a legitimate career choice, and there are several services available to support you along the way. Finland’s ethos of flexible career choices mean that you can be a full-time entrepreneur, or perhaps combine entrepreneurship with your existing work or studies.

Cultivating an attractive environment for international entrepreneurs is also at the heart of Finland’s strategy at the national level. The Work in Finland website describes the local business ecosystem as one of the fasting growing in Europe, and the Finnish Startup Permit provides a fast-track service, offering a residence permit in just two weeks. Initiatives such as the 90-day Finn Programme or our own Startup Call Turku also offer the opportunity to test the waters here for a short period, before you decide to fully take the plunge.

Finland’s cutting-edge tech sector and ‘unicorn’ companies (such as Rovio or Supercell) are rightly celebrated, but what really makes the system work in my opinion is the support for small-scale innovation at the regional level – for example the food truck chefs, wellbeing therapists, boutique developers, and short-term freelancing roles. These smaller companies may not always hit the headlines, but to my mind they drive the local economy as well as inspiring others who might be on the fence. So let’s celebrate them too!

Here at International House Turku, our Business Advisors are happy to meet with you from ‘Day 0’, when you might not even have a defined business idea yet. Once you know what you want to do, we can help with logistics such as your business plan and registration paperwork. These services – as well as the necessary paperwork for starting a company – are available in English, so international entrepreneurs are not excluded.

We all know that entrepreneurship is a long road, and I cannot guarantee to the student I met that her company will succeed. But Southwest Finland can offer expert guidance and a supportive environment to give any business idea the best possible chance.