Business Finland granted more than EUR 1 billion in funding last year, strengthening R&D and innovation

In 2025, Business Finland granted a total of 1,097 million euro in funding. The overall figure was boosted by a new investment aid scheme for major clean transition investments, while from a research and innovation perspective, the main message is that research and development funding increased to 695 million euro. R&D funding increased by 68 million euro compared to the previous year, as stated in Business Finland’s press release (in Finnish).

This is an important signal for Finland’s innovation system. It shows that public funding continues to be directed strongly towards the development of new knowledge, technologies and solutions at a time when competitiveness increasingly depends on collaboration between research, companies and wider networks & ecosystems.

Impact of R&D Funding on SME Growth and Exports

According to Business Finland’s report Results and Impact 2025 (in Finnish), SMEs receiving Business Finland funding showed remarkable performance metrics:

These figures make one thing clear: R&D funding does not remain at the early research stage only. Its effects are reflected in growth, exports and employment.

The Growing Importance of Ecosystem Collaboration in 2026

From a research and innovation perspective, one particularly interesting finding relates to leading companies and the leverage effect of their ecosystem work. Business Finland’s target is that for every euro of funding granted, leading companies increase their own R&D investment by 3.9 €. For the first completed leading company projects, the realised leverage effect was 6.6 €, clearly exceeding the target. Business Finland describes leading companies’ ecosystems as business-driven projects that address key challenges for Finland’s competitiveness.

The ecosystem-level impact is also significant. According to the Results and Impact 2025 report, approximately  530 million euro has so far been allocated to the ecosystems of leading companies, and 78% of this funding has gone directly to SMEs and research organisations. This shows that impact is increasingly created through collaborative structures in which research organisations, companies and other partners develop solutions together.

Looking ahead to 2026, Business Finland is placing continued emphasis on ecosystem collaboration and business–research cooperation. As outlined in its funding update for early 2026, leading company competitions will continue, and funding instruments supporting collaboration between research organisations and companies will remain in focus.

How CLIC Innovation Supports Your Funding Journey

Business Finland’s figures show that impact is increasingly created through collaboration between research, companies and different ecosystems. The same approach is reflected in CLIC Innovation’s work: through its Project Preparation service, CLIC supports companies and consortia in preparing high-quality Business Finland and EU project applications, while our newly launched CLIC4Impact services help RDI activities move towards market uptake and measurable results.

The figures also show that funding opportunities are growing, as Business Finland’s R&D funding authorisations increase further in 2026. At the same time, competition is getting tougher. Success calls for genuine innovation, a well-designed project, the right partners and credible paths to create real impact.