Projects Qualifying for the Support Facility and Project Phases

Business Partnership Support is intended for commercially viable activities aimed at long-term economic cooperation in developing countries, such as:

• establishing a joint venture (e.g. production or services)
• establishing a subsidiary company (e.g. production or services)
• subcontracting (e.g. manufacturing or services)
• importing from a developing country (project with commercial market potential and developmental impacts which boosts developing country import to Finland and possibly to other countries)
• other  long-term business partnership in a developing country designed to sustain business activities related to, for example, long-term subcontracting or maintenance, franchising or licensing agreements
• pilot projects related to commercial/merchandised technology or solutions
• vocational education and training, and support for local education.

Business Partnership Support does not cover expenses associated with exporting or projects, which are associated with 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. In such a case, e.g. identifying a developing country partner and training of developing country employees can be supported.

The exclusion list includes projects/sectors that Finnpartnership will not support.

The support covers approved expenses incurred in the following phases of a project:

• identifying business partners
• pre-feasibility study
• feasibility study
• social and environmental impact assessment
• piloting technology and solutions
• business plan
• training of the employees in the target developing country
• utilising experts in developing a specific business area of a project
• vocational education and training, and support for local education.

Business Partnership Support can be applied for the above-mentioned phases either at several stages or all at once.