With our recent report, Through the Valley of Death – How can Finland grow?, we want to show that a change of direction for Finland is possible. We all know that Finland’s economy has not grown in 17 years. It is plagued by the business sector’s slowed productivity development, declining export quality, and a sustainability gap in public finances.
Our core message is that Finland’s growth is born through technology, research, and bold renewal. Global growth is increasingly based on technological innovation, and the same applies to Finland. To enable growth, we need long-term investments in research and development (R&D) and the creation of strong competence clusters that ignite collaboration.
In recent years, private R&D investments have started to grow, but the level is still not enough for a true growth turnaround. Public investments are needed to share risk and further leverage private investments.
From idea to commercial success
Every new innovation and startup has its own path – how do we ensure that as many as possible become success stories? The “valley of death” is the stage where product development and piloting consume time and money, but revenue has not yet started to flow. At this stage, it is decided whether the idea will take off or be left behind. Most innovations and startups do not survive this phase without the right support, resources, and collaboration. Public funding and various innovation supports are crucial. For example, Business Finland and EU programs provide funding that enables ambitious, high-risk projects to move forward.
Crossing the valley of death highlights the importance of expertise and partnerships. At VTT, we help companies mature their expertise and develop technological breakthroughs towards commercial application. VTT’s and other research organizations’ research infrastructures and expert networks support piloting, prototyping, and technology validation. Collaboration between companies, research organizations, and the public sector accelerates the commercialisation of innovations and reduces the risk for individual companies.
Internationally leading companies are born in Finland
The Finnish startup scene has developed tremendously over the past ten years. Finland already has internationally leading companies, such as Oura, Bluefors, and IQM. The success of these companies shows that Finland has all the prerequisites to rise to a growth trajectory, as long as we invest in strong expertise, research environments, partnerships, and growth funding.
We have unique technological expertise and companies capable of growth in Finland. Now we need more action to create new business and growth. In our report, we have compiled several examples of growth sectors. The examples are a call to action: let’s invest in our strengths and persistently pursue growth.
- internationally competitive, high value-added products and services
- technology-based growth sectors and new growth companies
- investments in strategic competence clusters and purposeful research and business collaboration within them
