The Definitive Guide to Business Finland Sprint Funding: Eligibility, The €50k Equity Rule, Application Architecture, and 2026 Guidelines
Business Finland has permanently launched Sprint funding, replacing the discontinued Tempo grant. This comprehensive 0-to-100 pillar guide breaks down the €100,000 non-dilutive grant, the strict €50,000 paid-in equity threshold, the mandatory pre-sparring process, cost calculation formulas, and insider lessons from the 2026 pilot.
Introduction: The New Reality of Early-Stage Startup Funding in Finland
In late 2025, the Finnish startup ecosystem experienced a seismic shift: Business Finland permanently sunsetted the Tempo Grant. For nearly a decade, Tempo served as the default starting line for early-stage Finnish tech startups and international founders arriving on the Finnish Startup Permit. With a relatively accessible entry barrier—requiring just €30,000 in liquid capital or convertible loans—it offered €50,000 in non-dilutive funding to test commercial feasibility.
On March 2, 2026, Business Finland introduced its successor: Sprint Funding (Sprint-avustus nopeaa kansainvälistä kasvua hakeville pienille yrityksille).
Initially launched as a 6-month competitive pilot, Sprint was flooded with over 200 applications within weeks, confirming immense demand. Following the pilot's conclusion on August 31, 2026, Business Finland Director General Lassi Noponen and Director Marjo Ilmari officially announced that Sprint would transition into a permanent, continuous open call starting September 1, 2026.
Sprint is not merely a renamed Tempo grant. It represents a fundamental philosophical realignment by Business Finland:
- Double the Capital Injection: The maximum non-dilutive grant has doubled from €50,000 to €100,000 (covering 75% of a €133,334 project).
- Substantially Higher Financial Barrier: The old €30,000 liquid capital requirement has been replaced by a mandatory €50,000 in paid-in risk equity (oma pääoma) on the corporate balance sheet.
- From Market Studies to Hard R&D: At least two-thirds (66.7%) of the budget must now be invested into core research and development (R&D) rather than pure marketing exploration.
- Mandatory Pre-Application Sparring: Blind applications are no longer accepted; founders must complete an intake profile on My Business Finland and pass a mandatory sparring interview with a Business Finland advisor before the grant application can be formally submitted.
Whether you are an expat tech founder incorporating a Finnish Osakeyhtiö (Oy), a university spin-off commercializing patent-pending IP, or an established SME pivoting into artificial intelligence, this definitive pillar guide provides the complete blueprint for securing, executing, and auditing the Business Finland Sprint grant.
1. Quick Facts & Executive Overview
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BUSINESS FINLAND SPRINT FUNDING AT A GLANCE │
├────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Financial Metric │ Statutory Specification │
├────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Grant Amount │ €75,000 – €100,000 (Non-dilutive grant) │
│ Aid Intensity │ 75% of eligible project costs │
│ Minimum Project Budget │ €100,000 (Grant: €75,000) │
│ Maximum Project Cost Base │ €133,334 (Grant: €100,000) │
│ Corporate Matching Share (25%) │ €25,000 – €33,334 (Paid from own equity/cash) │
│ Upfront Advance (< 5yo) │ 70% (€70,000 on full grant) disbursed upon approval │
│ Final Balance Payment (< 5yo) │ 30% (€30,000) disbursed post-completion & audit │
│ Advance for Companies ≥ 5yo │ 0% Advance (100% paid in arrears upon audit) │
│ Minimum Paid-In Equity │ €50,000 (Share capital, SVOP, or Ch 12 Capital Loan) │
│ Minimum Working Capital │ €63,334 (<5yo) or €133,334 (≥5yo) in net liquid assets│
│ Project Duration │ 6 to 12 months │
│ Mandatory Work Ratio │ Minimum 66.7% R&D / Maximum 33.3% Market Validation │
│ Aid Classification │ EU De Minimis Aid (Max €300,000 over 3 rolling years) │
│ Legal Entity Required │ Finnish Limited Liability Company (Oy) with Y-tunnus │
│ Application Mechanism │ Continuous Call via My Business Finland & E-Services │
└────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
2. The Great Shift: Tempo vs. Sprint
To appreciate why applications get rejected under the new rules, one must understand the philosophical evolution from the legacy Tempo instrument to Sprint:
| Evaluation Dimension | Discontinued: Tempo Grant (Pre-2026) | Active: Sprint Grant (September 2026+) |
|---|---|---|
| Max Non-Dilutive Grant | €50,000 | €100,000 |
| Funding Ratio | 75% | 75% |
| Maximum Project Cost Base | €66,667 | €133,334 |
| Upfront Cash Advance | €35,000 (70%) | €70,000 (70% for <5yo) |
| Capital Requirement | €30,000 (Bank balance or loan commitments) | €50,000 in Paid-in Equity on official balance sheet |
| Project Core Focus | Market surveys, customer discovery, GTM strategy | At least 66.7% R&D (MVP, architecture, software, piloting) |
| Team Requirement | 1 committed founder | At least 2 committed individuals working in Finland |
| Application Process | Direct online submission | Profile intake on My Business Finland + Mandatory Pre-Sparring |
| Target Applicant | Pre-seed startups (<5 years) | Startups (<5 years) OR Established SMEs (≥5 years) undergoing major innovation pivot |
| Independent Audit | Often waived or light confirmation | Mandatory Independent Auditor's Report (KHT/HT) for all beneficiaries |
3. The 5 Statutory Eligibility Gatekeepers
Before a Business Finland Innovation Director evaluates your pitch deck, your company must pass through five automated and administrative gatekeepers. Missing even one results in immediate administrative refusal (hylkäyspäätös).
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Finnish Corporate Vehicle & SME Size │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│ [PASS]
▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. €50,000 Paid-In Risk Equity on Balance │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│ [PASS]
▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. Net Working Capital & Liquidity Check │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│ [PASS]
▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. 2-Person Operational Team in Finland │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│ [PASS]
▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Prior Funding History & De Minimis Cap │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│ [PASS]
▼
[CASE HANDLER EVALUATION]
Gatekeeper 1: Corporate Entity & SME Definition
- Legal Form: The applicant must be an incorporated Finnish Limited Liability Company (Osakeyhtiö / Oy) registered in the Finnish Trade Register (Kaupparekisteri). Sole proprietorships (toiminimi), general partnerships (avoin yhtiö), limited partnerships (kommandiittiyhtiö), and non-profit associations (yhdistys) are ineligible.
- EU Small Enterprise Criteria:
- Headcount: Fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees.
- Annual Turnover OR Balance Sheet Total: Less than €10,000,000.
- Group Consolidation Warning: If your company is owned 25% or more by another corporate entity, the headcount and revenue of the parent and affiliated sister companies must be consolidated under EU SME definition rules.
- Geographic Scope: The company must be domiciled in mainland Finland. Companies registered solely in the Åland Islands are ineligible unless they have a registered permanent operational establishment in mainland Finland.
Gatekeeper 2: The €50,000 Paid-In Risk Equity Requirement
This is the single largest filter in the Sprint architecture. Under Tempo, founders could show €30,000 in a Finnish bank account, even if derived from soft loans or personal overdrafts. For Sprint, this is strictly forbidden.
ACCEPTED AS RISK EQUITY:
✔ Share Capital (Osakepääoma) paid into the company bank account
✔ Invested Unrestricted Equity Fund (SVOP - Sijoitetun vapaan oman pääoman rahasto)
✔ Subordinated Capital Loans (Pääomalaina) strictly conforming to Chapter 12 of the Limited Liability Companies Act (OYL 12 luku)
✔ Retained earnings (Voittovarat) ONLY for companies at least 5 years old (Updated in September 2026)
REJECTED (DOES NOT COUNT AS RISK EQUITY):
✖ Standard commercial bank loans
✖ Finnvera founder loans
✖ Shareholder loan payables (Velkakirjalaina) without OYL Ch 12 capital subordination
✖ Retained earnings / historic profits for startups under 5 years old
✖ Anticipated or promised revenue from upcoming customer contracts
What if your funding round is currently closing?
Business Finland allows a narrow exception: If an angel or VC investment round has been formally agreed upon but funds have not yet cleared before application submission, you may attach a signed investment commitment or binding term sheet. However, Business Finland will condition the final funding decision on seeing the verified bank deposit slip and an updated balance sheet showing the equity before funds can be drawn down.
Gatekeeper 3: Net Working Capital & Liquidity Test
Passing the €50,000 equity rule is necessary, but not sufficient. Business Finland also evaluates your immediate Net Financial Assets (Nettorahoitusvarat):
$$\text{Net Financial Assets} = \text{Cash & Bank Equivalents} + \text{Short-Term Receivables} - \text{Short-Term Liabilities}$$
The agency calculates whether your business can survive the project lifecycle while executing the planned development:
- Startups (< 5 years old): Must prove at least €63,334 in liquid net working capital at the time of application. (This matches the €133,334 project budget minus the €70,000 upfront advance).
- Established SMEs (≥ 5 years old): Must prove at least €133,334 in liquid net working capital, because no advance payment is provided to older entities.
- External Burn Buffer: If the company employs staff or maintains facilities outside the Sprint project, the balance sheet must prove sufficient cash reserves to cover those external operations without cannibalizing project capital.
Gatekeeper 4: The 2-Person Committed Team in Finland
Sprint was explicitly designed to weed out "one-person shell companies" and absentee founders managing remote teams from abroad.
- Physical Location: The company must have an operational core of at least two individuals physically based and working in Finland. International founders must possess legal work authorization (such as the Finnish Startup Residence Permit, permanent residency, or EU citizenship).
- The Full-Time Rule: At least one individual must work 100% full-time for the applicant company. This person cannot simultaneously hold a full-time engineering or management position elsewhere.
- The Second Person Equivalence: The second resource must represent a 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE). This can be satisfied either by:
- A second full-time team member (100%), OR
- Two part-time specialists who each verifiably dedicate at least 50% of their working hours to the venture.
- Demonstrable Commitment: Team members must be tied to the long-term success of the business through substantial equity ownership (e.g. 10%+), an official executive management contract, or direct verifiable employment.
- Founders on Starttiraha: A founder receiving the personal municipal Starttiraha livelihood subsidy (~€740/mo) is considered 100% full-time committed. While their Starttiraha-funded hours cannot be billed as a cash salary to the Sprint project, their full-time contribution satisfies the human resource requirement.
Gatekeeper 5: Prior Funding & De Minimis Regulations
- Under 5 Years Old: A startup is strictly disqualified if it has ever received any of the following Business Finland funding instruments:
- Sprint Funding
- Tempo Funding (including ESA-BIC incubator participation)
- Industrial R&D Grants or Loans (Tutkimus- ja kehitysrahoitus)
- Young Innovative Companies (Nuoret innovatiiviset yritykset / NIY)
- Deep Tech Accelerator (DTA)
- Corporate Spin-Off Exemption (September 2026 Rule): A major clarification introduced in the continuous September 2026 call: If a new startup spins out of a large or midcap corporation, it can receive Sprint funding even if the parent corporation previously received Business Finland R&D funding for the technology, provided that the originating parent corporation owns strictly less than 25% of the new spin-off and exercises zero control.
- Over 5 Years Old (SME Pivots): Established companies that previously received Business Finland support can apply for Sprint, provided the new project represents a radical change in business direction based on a completely new innovation, rather than the continuation of the previously funded product line.
- EU De Minimis Cap: Sprint is classified as de minimis state aid under Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831. The statutory maximum is €300,000 in total de minimis aid per single undertaking over any 3-year rolling period. All de minimis aid received from ELY Centres, Finnvera, Business Finland, and municipal business agencies is aggregated at the group level.
4. Structuring the Work Packages: The 2/3 R&D Rule
A common reason for rejection during the pilot phase was submitting a project plan focused overwhelmingly on sales, marketing, and commercial expansion.
Under Section 2 of the Finnish Government R&D Decree (TKI-asetus 1444/2014), at least 66.7% (two-thirds) of your total project costs must be strictly dedicated to Research & Development activities.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STATUTORY WORK PACKAGE ARCHITECTURE │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│ WORK PACKAGES 1 & 2: R&D ACTIVITIES (≥ 66.7%) │ WORK PACKAGE 3: MARKET (≤33.3%)│
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ • Core software architecture & cloud infrastructure │ • Qualitative customer demand │
│ • Algorithm development, ML fine-tuning & prompt design│ • Competitive intelligence │
│ • Hardware prototyping, test benches & schematics │ • International market entry │
│ • User experience (UX/UI) testing & technical pilots │ • Revenue model stress-testing│
│ • Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) & patent novelty searches │ • Seed / Series A prep dossier│
│ • Compliance architecture (GDPR, CE, HIPAA, Kanta) │ • Pricing tier validation │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
What Qualifies as Core R&D?
- MVP Platform Engineering: Writing the production codebase, creating API endpoints, configuring database isolation, building custom machine learning models, and engineering proprietary logic.
- Clinical or Technical Piloting: Running structured pilot tests with initial design partners or clinical trial sites to benchmark latency, accuracy, safety, and technical stability.
- IPR Searches & Freedom to Operate: Retaining registered patent attorneys to perform international prior-art novelty searches, evaluate freedom-to-operate (FTO) in key export markets (such as the US and Germany), and draft initial priority patent filings.
- Architectural Stress-Testing: Load testing, security penetration testing, automated failover design, and regulatory compliance mapping (e.g. Finnish Kanta interoperability or EU AI Act classification).
What Qualifies as Commercial Validation?
While R&D must dominate, Business Finland will reject a project that ignores market realities. The remaining budget (up to 33.3%) must focus on commercial discovery:
- Conducting 30+ structured customer problem interviews across target export markets.
- Mapping competitor feature matrices, pricing mechanics, and switching costs.
- Defining distribution channels, regulatory import hurdles, and unit economics.
- Preparing technical dossiers and business models for follow-on venture capital rounds.
The Ineligible Cost Blacklist: What BF Will Never Pay For
Any application containing the following expenses will have its budget forcibly slashed:
- ❌ Direct Sales & Marketing: Digital ad spend (Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn), hiring outbound sales reps, PR agency retainers, SEO link-building, printing marketing brochures.
- ❌ Trade Shows & Conferences: Buying booth space at Slush, Web Summit, or industry exhibitions. (Note: Attending as a visitor to conduct customer interviews is permitted under the 10% general overhead flat rate, but booth exhibition costs are strictly excluded).
- ❌ Export Distribution Networks: Setting up foreign subsidiaries, paying sales commissions to foreign agents, or funding quantitative export subsidies (strictly banned under EU state aid law).
- ❌ Production & Manufacturing Equipment: Purchasing heavy factory machinery, commercial tooling, or mass raw materials intended for revenue-generating sales.
- ❌ Routine Operational Legal & Accounting: Daily bookkeeping, annual financial statement audits, standard trademark maintenance renewals, or incorporation fees.
5. Cost Categories, Salary Rules & Calculations
Sprint enforces strict, mathematical accounting standards. Mixing project expenses with general business overhead without strict ledger separation will fail the mandatory final audit.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SPRINT COST ACCOUNTING LEDGER │
├──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│ Cost Category │ Calculation Basis │ Regulatory Constraints │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Direct Salaries │ Effective project hours │ Capped at €4,000/mo for ≥10% │
│ │ subject to withholding tax │ owners; Max 11 months/year. │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. Indirect Personnel │ Flat 30% of direct salaries │ Covers TyEL, social security, │
│ │ │ holiday pay. No receipts. │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. Purchased Services │ Invoiced expert subcontracts│ Arm's-length third parties; │
│ │ (devs, patent attorneys) │ HILMA tender if ≥ €60,000. │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. Equipment & Cloud │ Software licenses, AWS/GCP │ Leased or project-period fees;│
│ │ compute, test hardware rents│ Fixed assets capped at depr. │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ 5. Other Costs │ Flat 10% on (1 + 3 + 4) │ Covers travel, office, phones.│
│ │ │ Zero receipts / No audit test.│
└──────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
The €4,000 Monthly Salary Cap for Major Shareholders
Business Finland enforces a strict salary ceiling for company owners:
- The Rule: For any individual who directly or indirectly controls 10% or more of the company's shares, the maximum gross salary recognized as an eligible project cost is €4,000 per month.
- Pro-Rata Working Time Rule: If a 10%+ owner earns a nominal gross salary of €5,000 per month but allocates 60% of their documented time to the Sprint project, the maximum recognized project salary is: $$\text{Recognized Direct Salary} = €4,000 \times 60% = €2,400$$
- Employees Holding < 10%: Non-owner software engineers, data scientists, or researchers employed under standard collective labor terms can be claimed at their actual market salaries, provided the compensation aligns with what they were paid prior to the project and reflects standard Finnish tech industry benchmarks.
- 11-Month Annual Cap: For all salaried staff, direct project salaries can only be claimed for up to 11 months in a 12-month calendar year to reflect statutory Finnish annual vacation leave (vuosiloma).
- Mandatory Working Time Monitoring (Y4 Specification): Every employee must maintain contemporaneous time tracking recording the date, hours, and specific Sprint work package. Business Finland automatically cross-checks reported payroll figures against the Finnish National Incomes Register (Tulorekisteri).
Indirect Personnel Overhead: Flat 30%
To cover statutory Finnish non-wage labor costs, Business Finland adds a flat 30% on top of all approved direct salary expenses.
- Covers: Statutory pension (TyEL), health insurance (sairausvakuutus), occupational accident insurance, unemployment insurance, and accrued holiday pay reserves.
- Accounting Simplification: You do not need to submit individual insurance bills or pension receipts; the 30% is credited automatically in the grant calculation.
Purchased Services & The Critical HILMA Public Procurement Trap
Sprint permits hiring external expert subcontractors—such as software engineering agencies, medical advisors, or patent attorneys—under Purchased Services (Ostopalvelut). However, founders must navigate two dangerous legal traps:
1. The €60,000 Public Procurement Rule (Julkisten hankintojen laki 1397/2016)
Under Finnish law, when a project is subsidized more than 50% by public funds (Sprint is funded at 75%), the private company is legally classified as a public procurement authority.
- If the total value of services purchased from a single supplier equals or exceeds €60,000 (excluding VAT), the contract MUST be put out to competitive tender via the national public procurement portal HILMA (
hankintailmoitukset.fi). - Procuring a €65,000 development contract directly from your favorite software agency without a HILMA tender is illegal. During the mandatory project audit, the independent auditor will flag the procurement violation, and Business Finland will claw back 100% of that expenditure.
- Strategy: Either keep individual vendor contracts strictly below €60,000, or engage in a formal public tender process if a major single procurement is necessary.
2. The Strict Related-Party Blacklist (Lähipiirirajoitus)
Business Finland strictly disallows purchasing services from affiliated companies or related parties:
- You cannot buy development services from a sibling company owned by yourself, a co-founder, a board member, or an executive.
- You cannot buy services from a company where a founder's spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, or sibling holds a management role or 20%+ ownership interest.
- The only exception is purchases from companies belonging to the exact same consolidated accounting group (parent-subsidiary), which must be declared in advance in the special grant terms.
Cloud Rents & Developer Tooling
Direct purchase of permanent laptops or server racks is not eligible. However, operational development infrastructure is 100% eligible under Equipment and Software Rents:
- AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure compute credits consumed during development.
- OpenAI, Anthropic, or Hugging Face API compute costs incurred for model training and fine-tuning.
- GitHub Enterprise, Figma, Linear, or specialized simulation licenses active during the project timeline.
Flat 10% "Other Costs" Allowance
Business Finland eliminates the headache of tracking minor incidentals by granting a flat 10% overhead allowance:
$$\text{Other Costs} = 10% \times (\text{Direct Salaries} + \text{Purchased Services} + \text{Equipment Rents})$$
This lump sum covers:
- Domestic and international travel to interview customers or visit pilot sites.
- Office space rent and co-working memberships.
- Telecommunications, internet, and freight.
- Hardware depreciation.
- Zero Audit Burden: You do not need to collect coffee receipts, train tickets, or phone bills. The 10% is calculated and paid out automatically based on your core eligible spend.
6. The Master €133,334 Budget Model
Here is the exact financial blueprint for engineering a full-scale Sprint project to maximize the full €100,000 grant:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CANONICAL SPRINT FINANCIAL BLUEPRINT (€133,334 BUDGET) │
├──────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┬────────────────────┬──────────────┤
│ Expense Category │ Total Cost │ Business Finland │ Company Own │
│ │ (excl. VAT) │ Contribution (75%) │ Share (25%) │
├──────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 1. Direct Salaries │ €50,000 │ €37,500 │ €12,500 │
│ • Founder / Lead Dev (10 mos) │ €30,000 │ │ │
│ • Co-Founder / Tech Dev (5 mos) │ €20,000 │ │ │
│ 2. Indirect Personnel Costs (30%) │ €15,000 │ €11,250 │ €3,750 │
│ 3. Purchased Services (Subcontract) │ €52,000 │ €39,000 │ €13,000 │
│ • Specialist Cloud/AI Subcontract │ €42,000 │ │ │
│ • Patent Attorney FTO & Novelty │ €10,000 │ │ │
│ 4. Cloud & Tool Rents │ €4,213 │ €3,160 │ €1,053 │
│ • AWS Cloud GPU Infrastructure │ €3,000 │ │ │
│ • Developer SaaS Seats │ €1,213 │ │ │
│ 5. Other Costs (Flat 10% on 1+3+4) │ €12,121 │ €9,090 │ €3,031 │
│ • Travel, office, incidentals │ │ │ │
├──────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼────────────────────┼──────────────┤
│ TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET │ €133,334 │ €100,000 │ €33,334 │
└──────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┴────────────────────┴──────────────┘
Cash Flow Timeline for Startups Under 5 Years Old
Step 1: Grant Approval
• Digital grant contract accepted in E-Services portal.
• Business Finland immediately disburses 70% advance payment: +€70,000 cash.
Step 2: Project Execution (Months 1 – 12)
• Total capital available to deploy: €70,000 (Advance) + €33,334 (Company Equity) = €103,334.
• Team executes WPs, logs hours via Y4 timesheets, pays subcontractors.
Step 3: Completion & Final Audit (Month 12)
• Work packages concluded; accounts closed.
• Independent Auditor (KHT/HT) inspects project ledger and signs verification report.
• Final report submitted through Business Finland portal.
Step 4: Balance Payment Release (Month 13 – 14)
• Business Finland approves final report and auditor statement.
• Final 30% balance disbursed: +€30,000 cash.
7. Step-by-Step Application Process: The 2026 Workflow
The days of submitting a cold proposal into the Business Finland portal without prior contact are over. The permanent Sprint call enforces a structured, four-phase application lifecycle.
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor Founder as Startup Founder
participant Portal as My Business Finland
participant Advisor as BF Funding Advisor
participant EServices as BF E-Services Portal
participant Bank as Corporate Bank Account
Founder->>Portal: 1. Register & fill company profile
Founder->>Portal: 2. Complete Sprint Self-Assessment
Portal->>Advisor: Profile flagged as ready for sparring
Founder->>Advisor: 3. Mandatory Pre-Sparring Session (30 mins)
Advisor-->>Founder: Green light & feedback on project plan
Founder->>EServices: 4. Submit formal application & 4 attachments
EServices->>Advisor: Case handler review & formal decision
Advisor-->>Founder: Positive Funding Decision Issued!
Founder->>EServices: 5. Accept decision terms & enter IBAN
EServices->>Bank: 6. Disburse 70% Advance (€70,000)
Phase 1: Intake & Self-Assessment on My Business Finland
- Navigate to My Business Finland (
https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/services/Advice-and-market-information/mybusiness-finland/). - Log in using Finnish personal banking credentials (verkkopankkitunnukset) or Mobile Certificate (Mobiilivarmenne) via Suomi.fi e-Identification.
- Create your corporate profile. Fill out:
- Company mission and innovative core.
- Target international customer segment and problem statement.
- Current capitalization, share capital, and SVOP reserve.
- Team composition, highlighting full-time roles in Finland.
Phase 2: The Mandatory Pre-Sparring Session (Ennakkosparraus)
- Once your intake profile is validated, the portal opens an appointment scheduling module.
- You will book a 30-minute virtual sparring video call with a designated Business Finland Startup Advisor.
- How to Pitch the Advisor:
- Prepare a crisp 10-slide deck covering: Problem, Solution, Innovation Edge (särmä), Global Competitor Landscape, Sprint Work Packages (clearly showing the 2/3 R&D split), and Financing Structure (€50k equity proof).
- Be prepared to answer: "Why is this risky R&D rather than standard consulting?" and "What significant development will you execute after Sprint finishes?"
- The advisor will give direct, candid feedback. If the project lacks technical risk or resembles an agency, they will ask you to re-scope before applying. Once they give the green light, you proceed to the formal application.
Phase 3: Compiling the 4 Mandatory Attachments
You must prepare four statutory files before entering the application portal:
- The Official Sprint Project Plan (Projektisuunnitelma): Must use the official DOCX template (
sprint_project_plan_template_ongoing.docx). Detail your objectives, measurable KPIs, risk matrix, Gantt chart, and Work Package breakdowns. - Current Shareholder Register (Osakasluettelo): Listing all shareholders, share percentages, and voting distribution. (Include parent company registers if a subsidiary).
- Official Account-Level Balance Sheet & Income Statement (Tuloslaskelma ja tase):
- Must be a detailed, account-level report (tilikohtainen / pääkirjan tasoinen) generated directly from your accounting software (Netvisor, Procountor, Fennoa, Fortnox).
- Must be no older than 2 months from the date of submission.
- Must explicitly display the €50,000 paid-in equity in Share Capital or SVOP.
- Investor Term Sheet (If Applicable): If your €50k equity is currently being transferred, upload the fully executed, signed investor term sheet.
Phase 4: Formal Submission in E-Services
- Enter the Business Finland Online Funding Service (Asiointipalvelu):
https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/services/funding/funding-e-service/. - Under "Apply for New Funding", select Sprint Grant for Small Companies.
- Fill out the online application fields, copy your Work Package budgets, appoint the Accountable Project Leader (Vastuullinen projektijohtaja), and upload the 4 attachments.
- Digital Signing: The submission must be authenticated by an authorized company signee registered in the Trade Register with sole representation rights, or via a Suomi.fi Authorization mandate for "Applying for corporate funding".
- Decision Timeline: Processing typically takes 3 to 6 weeks from submission.
8. Post-Decision Governance & The Mandatory Independent Audit
Receiving the grant confirmation letter is only half the battle. Sprint funding requires strict accounting compliance.
The Independent Auditor's Report (Tilintarkastajan raportti)
Unlike smaller municipal grants where self-certification suffices, Sprint funding legally mandates an independent auditor's report covering the entire project duration:
- Who Can Audit: Must be audited by an authorized Finnish HT (tilintarkastaja) or KHT (KHT-tilintarkastaja) registered with the PRH Auditor Oversight Board.
- Audit Scope: The auditor inspects:
- Project bookkeeping isolation (specific cost center or project code).
- Salary calculation accuracy, working time sheets (Y4), and reconciliation with Tulorekisteri.
- Strict adherence to the €4,000/month founder salary cap.
- Invoices and bank payment receipts for all purchased services.
- Strict compliance with the €60,000 HILMA public procurement rule.
- Absence of transactions with related parties or non-consolidated affiliate companies.
- Audit Fees Are Covered: Reasonable fees paid to your auditor for completing the Sprint audit are 100% eligible direct project costs under Purchased Services!
The Final Narrative Report
Alongside the auditor's report, the project leader submits a comprehensive narrative report addressing:
- Did the project accomplish its 2–3 concrete technical objectives?
- What were the tangible results of the MVP / clinical / industrial trials?
- What customer feedback was gathered from international discovery interviews?
- What is the updated go-to-market and intellectual property protection roadmap?
- What are the company's follow-on private investment and R&D funding plans?
9. Top 7 Pitfalls That Cause Sprint Rejections
Drawing from the analysis of over 200 pilot applications, here are the most frequent failure points and how to neutralize them:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CRITICAL SPRINT FAILURE MODES & COUNTERMEASURES │
├──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Failure Mode │ Tactical Prevention Strategy │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. The Equity Timing Mistake │ Submitting an application while the €50k is still │
│ │ pending in personal accounts. Inject funds into SVOP │
│ │ and have your accountant close the balance sheet FIRST. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. The Marketing Overweight │ Allocating budget to marketing agencies, brand designs, │
│ │ and ad campaigns. Restructure so ≥66.7% is hard code, │
│ │ algorithms, architecture, and clinical testing. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. The "Two-Founder Evening" │ Both co-founders working full-time day jobs elsewhere. │
│ Trap │ At least one founder MUST dedicate 100% full-time │
│ │ working hours to the startup in Finland. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. The Related-Party Trap │ Subcontracting development to an agency owned by a │
│ │ founder or family member. Use completely independent, │
│ │ third-party contractors only. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5. HILMA Tendering Omission │ Signing a single €65,000 subcontract without public │
│ │ tender. Keep single contracts under €60k or tender. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 6. The Retrospective Log │ Forgetting to track daily hours, then inventing │
│ Disaster │ timesheets at month 12. Mandate weekly Y4 logging. │
├──────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 7. The Missing Next Step │ Pitching Sprint as the end of your R&D. Frame Sprint as │
│ │ phase 1 leading to a €1M+ Business Finland R&D loan. │
└──────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
10. The Strategic Funding Staircase: Beyond Sprint
Sprint is not meant to fund your startup forever; it is the catalyst designed to de-risk your technology so you can unlock massive follow-on capital.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STAGE 4: GLOBAL SCALE & PRIVATE VENTURE CAPITAL │
│ • International Series A (€3M - €10M+) │
│ • EIC Accelerator Grant & Equity (€2.5M + €10M) │
└────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
▲
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
│ STAGE 3: NIY (YOUNG INNOVATIVE COMPANIES) │
│ • Up to €1,250,000 non-dilutive scaling grants │
│ • 3 rigorous evaluation tranches for rapid export growth │
└────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
▲
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
│ STAGE 2: BUSINESS FINLAND INDUSTRIAL R&D LOAN │
│ • €500,000 – €1,200,000 low-interest subordinate product loan │
│ • 1–3% sub-market interest; 10-year term; 3-year grace period │
└────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
▲
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
│ STAGE 1: BUSINESS FINLAND SPRINT GRANT │
│ • €100,000 non-dilutive grant (75% aid intensity) │
│ • Validates technical feasibility, builds MVP, proves demand │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- Sprint (€100k Grant): Builds and tests the MVP, proves product-market fit, and secures freedom-to-operate.
- Pre-Seed Angel Round (€150k – €300k): Injects private equity into the SVOP reserve based on Sprint pilot milestones.
- Business Finland Industrial R&D Loan (T&K-laina): Provides up to €500,000 to €1,200,000 in subordinate, low-interest funding (typically 1–3% below market rates with 10-year repayment terms and 3-5 years grace period).
- Young Innovative Companies (Nuoret innovatiiviset yritykset / NIY): The ultimate badge of honor in the Nordics, unlocking €1.25 million in direct grants across three stages for high-velocity international champions.
11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can foreign founders on the Finnish Startup Residence Permit apply for Sprint?
Yes, absolutely! International founders holding the Finnish Startup Permit are fully eligible, provided they have incorporated their Finnish limited liability company (Oy), established a corporate bank account, deposited the mandatory €50,000 in equity, and maintain two active team members working in Finland.
Can the €50,000 equity requirement come entirely from the founders?
Yes. The €50,000 risk capital does not need to originate from professional VCs or institutional investors. Founders can invest their own personal savings directly into the company's Invested Unrestricted Equity Fund (SVOP-rahasto).
What if our company is 6 years old? Can we still apply?
Yes. Under the permanent September 2026 guidelines, companies aged 5 years or older can apply for Sprint if they are undertaking a radical change of business direction (merkittävä suunnanmuutos) based on a new technology. Furthermore, older companies can count accumulated retained earnings from approved financial statements toward the €50,000 equity threshold. However, older companies receive 0% upfront advance and must finance the full project before receiving the 75% reimbursement post-audit.
Can Sprint funding be combined with Starttiraha?
Yes, but with an important payroll distinction: An entrepreneur cannot draw a cash salary from the Sprint project budget during the exact same months they receive the personal Starttiraha grant from the employment authorities. However, their working hours still count toward fulfilling the full-time team presence requirement.
How long does it take from application to receiving the €70,000 advance?
Typically 4 to 8 weeks in total: 1–2 weeks for My Business Finland registration and pre-sparring, 3–4 weeks for official Business Finland application processing, and 3–5 banking days for the €70,000 advance transfer once the decision terms are digitally confirmed.
How Pomegroup Studio De-Risks Your Sprint Application
Navigating Finnish regulatory compliance, balancing statutory R&D ratios, and passing Business Finland case handler scrutiny requires experienced operational partners.
At Pomegroup Studio, we operate as your Second Co-Founder as a Service:
- Balance Sheet & Equity Structuring: We help structure your company capitalization, draft compliant SVOP agreements, and connect you with local angel networks to fulfill the €50,000 equity requirement.
- Statutory Project Plan Engineering: We write and calibrate your complete Business Finland Sprint project plan, aligning work packages with statutory R&D guidelines.
- Pre-Sparring Coaching: We coach your founding team to master the mandatory My Business Finland sparring interview with Business Finland advisors.
- Full-Stack Technical Delivery: Our senior engineering studio provides the dedicated software development muscle to build and deliver your MVP milestones on time and within budget.
Ready to launch your tech venture in Finland and unlock €100,000 in non-dilutive Business Finland funding?
Apply to Co-Build with Pomegroup Studio or speak with our venture operations team today.
