Finland’s economy has not grown in 17 years, so both industrial renewal and new growth companies are needed to turn things around. VTT’s recent report presents a vision of where new business and economic growth will emerge in Finland. It is important to seize the opportunities offered by various technology-based areas of expertise.
“Finland’s economy will only return to growth if overall productivity increases, meaning that more or higher value-added production is achieved with the same resources. This requires technology, expertise, and the courage to renew,” says VTT’s new CEO Kalle Härkki.
Global growth in recent years has been based on technological renewal, and the same phenomenon applies to Finland. The growth opportunities for Finnish companies are strongly based on their ability to develop and utilize technologies in creating successful products, services, and businesses. This requires investment in transformative research and development (R&D).
“It is promising that private R&D investments have turned to growth over the past ten years and Finland has companies with growth potential. But the level is not yet sufficient for a growth turnaround. Public R&D contributions are needed to share risk and leverage private investments,” says Laura Juvonen, Senior Vice President, Strategy at VTT.
The Finnish startup scene has developed tremendously over the past ten years. We are talking about a sector with a turnover of more than 10 billion euros, and its growth is rapid.
“New growth prospects are opened up by the emergence of the deep tech sector within startups. In other words, Finland has seen the creation of new research-driven technology companies, and some of these are already internationally leading in their fields, such as Oura, Bluefors, and IQM. To help more growth companies get through the ‘valley of death’– the phase where new innovations are scaled and commercialized – funding, partners, and research environments are needed,” Juvonen explains.
Finland has world-class expertise, strengths, and resources – and all the prerequisites to move onto a growth trajectory. To accelerate economic growth, Finland needs close cooperation between research and companies, as well as strategic investments in centres of expertise. This will result in internationally competitive, high value-added products and services, as well as new growth-capable companies. To remain competitive, it is also important for industrial companies to embrace technological renewal.
