FAQ

Finnpartnership’s classification of developing countries, as basis for the expense coverage amount of the Business Partnership Support, is based on OECD’s Development Assistance Committee´s (DAC) classification. The two least developed country classifications in the DAC List are grouped together as “low income developing countries” and the other two classifications as “other developing countries”. At the moment, there is a list in use, which is valid in the reporting for 2011, 2012 and 2013 (DAC List of ODA Recipients Effective for reporting on 2011, 2012 and 2013 flows).

2. What kind of projects are supported by the Business Partnership Support Facility?
The Business Partnership Support covers a part of approved project expenses during the set-up phase of long-term, commercially viable projects. Expenses related to the project establishment and actual commencing of operations are not considered as acceptable set-up phase expenses. Moreover, it does not cover e.g. equipment or other investments, nor technical or other general product development expenses.

The support can also be applied for projects that are already on-going. Then, training of the employees in the target developing country, and developing a specific business area of a project, is supported if they support business partnership creation and continuity.

3. Does the Business Partnership Support cover expenses related to export projects?
The Business Partnership Support does not cover expenses associated with exporting (e.g. locating an agent or a distributor for a Finnish exporter). Certain phases of export projects can be supported when they involve long-term commercial cooperation with a company or an organisation in developing countries, and transfer of technology/know-how, for example in the case of long-term operation and maintenance contracts between Finnish and developing country actors. Support can be granted to cover expenses, for example, in the partner identification phase or for the training of local staff in projects creating a business partnership.

4. What kind of import projects are supported?

Finnpartnership supports import projects, when they are seen value-added importing. This means projects, where applicant is investing for the training and/or development of the partner in the target country. Value-added importing is, for example, applicant’s investment to:

Employment effect or the enablement of regular subsistence allowances are not seen value-adding alone,  but supported operations always need to include e.g. components of training or development.

Importing from a developing country to Finland or to the EU is eligible for support when the project has significant developmental effects by, for example, expanding and reinforcing the target country's production structures. These effects refer to, for example, a significant expansion of the offered range of goods, an improvement in product quality or degree of processing of goods produced in a developing country, or a contribution to regional diversification. The principle is that the operations that include production from developing country or export to Finland or to the EU are supported. Imports or production utilising existing production structures without any developmental effect element are not supported, if the import does not include above mentioned elements, although they would not have imported to Finland or the EU before.

5. What is meant by a pilot project related to Finnish environmental technology?
The support can be granted for a pilot project related to Finnish commercialised environmental technology (e.g. renewable energy, energy efficiency and emission-reduction technology) or other technology that promotes environmental sustainability. A pilot project, if successful, must have potential of leading to a business partnership. The support covers planning, employee training and technical assistance costs in pilot projects.

6. Does the Business Partnership Support cover expenses related to educational or training projects?
Support is not granted to cover expenses related to general education or teaching targeted at citizens in developing countries i.e. bilateral university cooperation projects etc. However, educational projects are supported when they operate on a purely commercial basis where income is composed of, for instance, tuition fees. This kind of educational project can be, for example, an establishment of a private school or a consulting company providing educational services to a developing country.

The support facility also covers expenses related to the education or training of a project's local staff (max. 60 to 90 working days) when these expenses are related to a specific business partnership project which complies with the general terms for the support facility.

7. What information about the applicant company and the project are public?
Due to the public nature of de minimis aid, the details provided on the application form (e.g. applicant name, sector) and the amount of financial support granted will be public. Project details and e.g. the project country are not public information.

8. What are the expenses covered by the Business Partnership Support?
Business Partnership Support is financial support which is intended to cover a part of a Finnish company's expenses in commercially viable projects in developing countries.

Acceptable expenses, which have incurred during the above mentioned preparatory phases of a project, include for example:

Also the following expenses of already operational developing country projects are eligible (max. 60 to 90 working days in total):

Expenses related to the company establishment and actual commencing of operations (excluding training of personnel) is not considered as acceptable expenses. For example, expenses related to the commencing of operations in the target country (company registration fees, permit fees etc.) are considered as normal operative phase expenses and therefore are not acceptable.

9.What are acceptable travel costs?
Acceptable travel costs are travel expenses (plane, train, boat or bus tickets), hotel charges and daily allowance during foreign travel. Travel expenses are calculated as per cheapest class. Acceptable hotel charges are restricted to the maximum charges approved according to the travelling compensation regulations of the Government of Finland. Only the accommodation charge of hotel expenses may be covered by the facility (no other service fees such as food, drinks or laundry). Taxis, car rental, personal kilometer allowance or other minor cost items will not be compensated through the facility.

10. To what extent are external expert fees acceptable expenses?
There is set a maximum limits for the acceptable expert/consultant fees. Acceptable expert fees are limited for junior consultants to EUR 520 per day and for senior consultant to EUR 910 per day. Actual expert fees incurred by the applicant may exceed these limits but the expense coverage of the facility is calculated according to the maximum limits.

External experts may be consultants or interpreter services utilized in connection with feasibility studies, market studies, business plans and, social and environmental impact assessments. Also legal fees, for example, in the partner identification phase are acceptable. External experts can also be used for the training of employees or capacity building projects of a company located in a developing country. Personnel employed in the local project company are not considered as external experts and therefore their working time is not an acceptable expense, because it is seen as company’s operational business operations.

11. To what extent are an applicant's internal labour expenses acceptable?
An applicant may utilise its own internal labour resources for the preparatory phases of a project in a developing country. The expenses may be related e.g. to identifying business partners, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, business plan development and the training of the employees in the target developing country. Only the actual working time of the applicant's employees spent in the target developing country may be covered (max. € 500 per day, based on the person's regular monthly salary, as detailed in the employment contract).

Labour expenses cannot be covered when the company's own employees /owners do not get paid a monthly salary (e.g. a newly established business). However travel-, accommodation-, and daily allowance expenses can be covered for the duration of the project country journey.

When the applicant company employees train the developing country company employees, the working expenses of the applicant company's employees can only be covered for training that takes place in the project country (expenses cannot be covered for training that takes place in Finland or another country). Work related to normal, everyday activities related to the project, e.g. the running or set-up expenses of machinery are not covered.

12. What costs are acceptable expenses for projects involving importing?
For projects which entail value-added importing from developing countries to Finland, acceptable expenses are, in addition to the other defined acceptable expenses, R&D costs as well as research and test fees required by authorities in connection with preparing products for the Finnish and EU markets. Tests and analyses related to project- or environmental assessments conducted by external- or internal experts can be covered. Costs associated with improving working conditions, terms of employment and occupational safety are also covered, as well as costs arising from auditing the social and environmental responsibility of local producers.

13. What costs are not considered as acceptable expenses?
Acceptable expenses do NOT include for example:

The establishing of the company is considered operative activity that takes place after the preparatory phase of the project, and expenses related to the establishing of the company (e.g. making of partner contracts and setting-up documents, notarizing, registration-, launching- and work permit expenses) are not acceptable expenses.

14. When is the application registered, and what is its identification number?
Applications are registered when the application and all required attachments have been received. At the time of registration an identification number is assigned for each application. The facility covers expenses as of this registration date. Expenses which have been incurred before the submittal and registration of the pertinent application cannot be covered by the facility.

15. When can an application be submitted?
Applications for the Business Partnership Support Facility can be submitted continuously throughout the year.

16. How long does it take to receive a decision on the support?
The decision making process consists of the 2 month application period and the processing period of approximately 2 months. The application is evaluated by the Support Committee composed of Finnfund's management, after which the applicant is informed of the recommendation of the Support Committee. After this, recommendations made by the Support Committee are forwarded to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, which makes a Discretionary Government Transfer Decision in approximately 2 months of the end of the relevant application period.

17. For how long is the support valid and available for the applicant?
For those applicants whose application has been registered on the 1.1.2010 or after this date, the support is valid for 24 months from the date that the applicant has been informed of the Discretionary Government Transfer Decision by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.  However, expenses incurred from the registration date onwards are acceptable.

18. When may the support funds be drawn?
The fund will cover the pertinent expenses of an approved project as detailed in the Discretionary Government Transfer Decision after the expenses are incurred. The due facility amount will be settled against a payment request which is to be filed together with a specification of detailed incurred expenses, an auditor's statement and check list verifying the authenticity of the incurred expenses. The approved facility amount can be settled in two installments. The applicant shall submit a final report in connection with the reimbursement request covering more than two thirds of the total support facility. Before reimbursement, it is verified that the possible requirements and recommendations related to the environmental and social impacts of the project have been taken into account.

19. What are the reporting requirements associated with the support?
Along with the reimbursement request, a final report must be submitted. In addition, follow-on reports detailing the progress of the project must be submitted for the two years following reimbursement.