After the fall of the Nokia empire, Finland trembled a time at the idea of becoming "the sick man of Europe". But the page is now turned. In 2017, gross domestic product grew at its fastest pace since 2010, and the dismantling of Nokia convinced the authorities that public support should primarily benefit local start-ups and growth pools. Finland, which enjoys one of the most advanced technological and academic fabric in Europe, is the "start-up nation" par excellence.

In this context, the focus is on the development of a close relationship between universities, researchers, start-ups and industrial sectors, particularly the media and creative industries sector. The Tekes public innovation support fund is at the initiative of a development plan for the 2016-2019 period that will lead to the creation of 110,000 jobs through the creation of "new and growing companies".

Among its numerous investment support programs, Tekes has set up "Digiboost", a plan to support the digitization of SME services so that they recruit the experts they lack. The plan also aims to facilitate market access for foreigners wishing to develop businesses in Finland or foreign skills needed by local businesses. The Young Innovative Company Program, another Tekes program, awards an average of 1.5 million euros to promising start-ups. While the youngest shoots are awarded 50,000 euros on average to develop their business plan and their customer base.

Finland is now ranked sixth in the Forbes ranking of the best countries to do business. France is in twenty-ninth place. With a R&D budget of close to 4% of GDP, the highest in Europe, Finland ranks 5th among the most innovative countries according to the 2016 WIPO Global Innovation Index in Geneva . The country occupies 1st place in the category human capital & research and 2nd place in institutions. Finland was also ranked the third most innovative country in the European Union in 2016 by the European Commission's European Innovation Scoreboard. The Global Dynamism Index 2015 of the Grant Thornton audit group ranks Finland third in the world's most dynamic economies.