Sprint Grant for small companies seeking rapid international growth

Application period

Continuous call from September 1, 2026. Business Finland processes applications and makes decisions continuously.

Call description

The Sprint Grant is intended for companies seeking international growth to fund projects in which they develop innovative solutions. The grant is intended for the early stages of developing a solution, to validate its technical feasibility, customer need, and market potential. Developing the solution must still require significant further R&D efforts after the Sprint project.

The solution being developed must have a significant international competitive advantage and market potential and enable rapid, scalable growth of the company.

The funding aims to encourage companies seeking rapid international growth to pursue bold and impactful development projects, help them demonstrate the feasibility of their solution and its business potential, and equip them to raise private investment and carry out larger R&D projects.

This funding is suitable for small companies of all ages, but for companies that were registered 5 or more years ago, the requirement is that they aim to achieve a significant change of direction in their business based on a new innovation.

The funding is discretionary and competitive. First, Business Finland reviews the prerequisites for granting funding or any potential obstacles to funding. The application is then assessed in accordance with the evaluation criteria. The prerequisites, obstacles and evaluation criteria for funding are described later in this funding call.

The granting of funding and monitoring of its use are governed by the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001), the Act on the General Conditions for Aid for Economic Activities (429/2016),  and the Government Decree on the Funding of Research, Development and Innovation Activities (1444/2014)..

Target group for the funding

The target group for this funding is small Finnish companies that are developing innovative solutions for international markets.

Companies under five years old: Startups seeking rapid international growth that have not previously received Business Finland funding.

Companies five years old and over: Companies seeking a significant change in direction in their business based on innovation and aiming for rapid international growth.

The company's age is determined upon the application becoming pending, calculated from the date of its registration in the Trade Register. A “small company” refers to a small enterprise as defined by the EU, which employs fewer than 50 people and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding 10 million euros.  If a company is not independent, its affiliations and ownership links may affect its size classification. Definition of an independent company.

Type and amount of funding

The funding is a de minimis grant that does not need to be repaid by the beneficiary. Companies can apply for funding for a project with an estimated cost of 100,000–133,334 euros. The Funding Agency’s funding covers 75% of the project's eligible costs, meaning that a company can apply for funding of 75,000–100,000 euros.

Seventy percent of the funding is paid in advance if the beneficiary is less than five years old and there are no companies within the same group that are at least five years old. The remainder of the funding will be paid to the company once the project is completed, based on the actual, approved costs reported to Business Finland.

No advance payment will be made to companies that are at least five years old or to companies that belong to the same group as any company that is at least five years old. In this case, the entire funding will be paid after the end of the project.

Total amount of funding to be awarded in the call

The amount of funding available for the call varies from year to year and also depends on the size of other funding calls drawing on the same funding authorization in the state budget.

Purpose of the funding

The funding must be used for a project in which at least two-thirds of the cost is research and development (R&D). The share of R&D activities in the project costs is estimated based on the project plan. Examples of R&D activities may include:

• developing a solution and the research required for it
• implementing a prototype or MVP version of the solution and verifying its technical feasibility
• piloting the solution with customers and collecting feedback for further development
• preparing research and development plans for further development
• assessments, plans, and initial applications related to industrial property rights.

Research and development activities are defined in Section 2 of the R&D Decree (1444/2014).

In addition to these, the project must include customer and market research related to the solution being developed, or other measures that support opportunities for utilizing the solution being developed, which are not counted as R&D activities. These include, for example:

• testing the demand for the solution with customers
• market surveys, competitive analysis, and market validation
• assessing and planning additional funding and preparing for an investment round

The funding cannot be used for purposes such as:

• a company’s operational, sales, and marketing activities
• production investments
• drafting commercial contracts
• staff training
• measures prohibited by the de minimis Regulation (European Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831), such as quantitative export subsidies and the costs of establishing and maintaining a distribution network

Eligible costs

Eligible costs are set out in the Standard terms and conditions of the Sprint Grant.

Only procurements and work covered by a written contract or order placed after submitting the funding application may be accepted for the project. You should not enter into any binding agreements regarding purchases before submitting your application.

The project may include purchases from companies in the same group, but not from other associated companies.

The beneficiary must comply with the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016). 

Procurements must be competitively tendered as public procurement contracts when their total value, excluding VAT, is at least 60,000 euros.

The Funding Agency may approve costs for a project no earlier than when the funding application has become pending and it has been provided with the basic information required to make a decision on the matter.

Prerequisites for awarding funding

The following conditions must be met at the time the funding application becomes pending:

• The applicant must have a Finnish Business ID.
• The applicant must be a limited liability company operating in Finland.
• The applicant is classified as a small or micro-enterprise (less than 50 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of less than 10 million euros).  Learn more about determining the company size category
• The applicant must have sufficient financial resources to carry out the project. 
• The funds required for a full-scale project, i.e., one amounting to 133,334 euros, are 63,334 euros for companies under five years old, which receive an advance payment, and 133,334 euros for companies at least five years old. The minimum requirement for the project for companies less than five years old is therefore the total project cost estimate, minus the advance payment. For companies that are at least five years old, the minimum requirement is equal to the total project cost estimate, as they do not receive an advance payment.
• In addition to the minimum requirement for the project, the company must also have sufficient financial resources to cover its other costs during the project.
• Business Finland assesses a company’s financial resources based on factors such as its net financial assets: Net financial assets = Cash and cash equivalents + short-term receivables – short-term liabilities.
• The applicant must have at least 50,000 euros of equity financing on its balance sheet. Previously received funding is also taken into account, even if it has already been spent. Examples of eligible equity financing include:
• Investments in share capital or invested unrestricted equity fund (SVOP)
• Capital loans in accordance with Chapter 12 of the Limited Liability Companies Act
• In addition: In the case of companies that are at least five years old, the retained earnings shown in approved financial statements for the last full financial year
• Investments agreed on with investors may also be taken into account when assessing equity financing and the adequacy of cash reserves. In this case, applications must be accompanied by a signed investment commitment or term sheet provided by the investor.
• The applicant company must have a committed team of at least two people working in Finland.
• At least one person from the team must work full-time in the applicant company. The other person’s work contribution may also consist of the part-time contribution of more than one person (for example, 2 people who each devote 50% of their time to the company).
• Meeting the minimum prerequisite is a requirement for an application to be considered, but it does not mean that a team’s expertise, experience, or resources are sufficient. These will be assessed as part of the overall evaluation of the application (see Evaluation criteria for awarding funding).
• A person is considered to be working full-time if they devote all their working hours to the applicant company and thus cannot have any responsibilities or duties that require working hours in other organizations.
• Individuals who hold a significant stake in the company or who are verifiably employed by the company are considered credibly committed team members.
• An entrepreneur’s own work may also be included in human resources, even if they do not draw a salary from the business and their remuneration is not reported as a project cost.

 

Obstacles to awarding funding

All funding provided by Business Finland is subject to the General obstacles to granting and paying funding.

In addition to the general obstacles, obstacles to awarding Sprint funding include the following:

• The applicant is a company under five years old and has previously been granted one of the following forms of Business Finland funding: Sprint, Tempo (or equivalent funding for business incubator participation, e.g. ESA-BIC), R&D funding, Young Innovative Companies or Deep Tech Accelerator.
• The applicant, a company belonging to the same group or another company, regardless of age, has previously been granted any of the above forms of funding for researching, developing, or commercializing the same solution.
  • An exception to this is a new company that has separated from a large or midcap company, where the company from which it separated owns less than 25% and has no control (spin-off).
• The applicant's de minimis quota is exceeded. Please note that de minimis funding granted to companies belonging to the same group or controlled by the same party is added together (Information about de minimis aid).
• The applicant is an undertaking in difficulty according to the EU definition. The definition of an undertaking in difficulty can be found on the Funding obstacles page.
• The project relates to an industry that cannot receive de minimis funding (primary production in agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture).
• The applicant is a sole proprietor, a sole proprietorship operating under a registered trade name, a general partnership, limited partnership, cooperative, public or non-profit organization, foundation, or association.
• The applicant is a company registered in the Åland Islands that does not have a permanent establishment and operations in mainland Finland.

The aforementioned obstacles to awarding funding are assessed based on the circumstances at the time the funding application becomes pending. Funding will not be granted if any of these obstacles exist at that time.

Evaluation criteria for awarding funding

The evaluation criteria will be assessed if the prerequisites for awarding funding are met and there are no obstacles to awarding funding:

Team resourcing, expertise, and commitment

• In addition to meeting the minimum team-related prerequisite mentioned in the section “Prerequisites for awarding funding,” the team must possess diverse, wide-ranging, and complementary expertise and experience in the technology, industry, and international business related to the solution.
• The applicant has a clear understanding of the skill requirements and a plan for strengthening the team.
• The company’s owners, board and team are credibly committed to the solution and international growth.
• The applicant has sufficient human resources to implement the project.

Innovativeness and competitive advantage of the solution

• The solution being developed is innovative and concrete.
• The solution has a credible competitive advantage in international markets.
• The applicant has identified the target customer base and customer needs for the solution and has defined its preliminary revenue model.
• The applicant has sufficient intellectual property rights for commercializing the solution or a credible basis for acquiring them, as well as a plan to protect the solution.

International market and growth potential

• The solution has significant international business potential that can be preliminarily demonstrated.
• The solution enables rapid international growth for the business.
• The applicant has a realistic understanding of the size of the market and the requirements for entering the market.

Project plan

• The project plan has been prepared using Business Finland’s project plan template.
• The project plan is sufficiently clear and detailed for making a funding decision and monitoring the project.
• The project plan, resources, and schedule are credible and appropriate.
• At least two-thirds of the project costs are allocated to R&D activities.
• The project’s risks and contingency measures for them have been credibly assessed.
• The project has been given specific and measurable objectives that can be used to evaluate its success.

 

Project focus on the early stages of development

• The project focuses on the early stages of developing the solution, prior to more significant R&D investments.
• The company has a need to validate technology, customer needs, and demand before making more significant R&D investments.
• If successful, the Sprint project must lead to more significant R&D investments after completion.

 

Project impact and further development plan

• The solution requires significantly more development after the Sprint project.
• The applicant has an ambitious and credible R&D plan to develop the solution after the project, including a forecast of the more significant R&D investments to be made following the Sprint project.
• The project provides the kind of new information that is needed to refine and implement the follow-up plan.

 

Financial resources and further funding plan

• The applicant has sufficient financial resources to carry out the project in addition to any other business activities.
• The applicant has a credible further funding plan for the continued development and commercialization of the solution.

 

For applications from companies that are at least five years old, Business Finland will also assess the significance, credibility, and impact of the change in business direction on the company’s international growth potential:

• The change in business direction pursued by the project requires substantial changes in several key areas, such as the solution, technology, target customer, revenue model, or business model, or otherwise constitutes a significant overall transformation.
• Funding will not be granted if the project is limited to the development, expansion, or utilization of an existing activity, solution, or business activity without substantial new innovative content or business renewal.
• The change in business direction must significantly improve the company’s international scalability and market potential, as well as increase its R&D investments.

 

Standard terms and conditions for funding

Standard terms and conditions for Sprint funding (PDF) 

Instructions for applying for funding

Before applying for funding, register with My Business Finland and fill in your company’s background information. If your company meets the basic criteria for Sprint funding, schedule a meeting with a Business Finland expert. Submit your Sprint funding application via Business Finland’s online funding service only after your meeting.

My Business Finland

The application is submitted using the Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland e-service. In the application, the applicant must appoint a contact person and a responsible project leader, who must be employed by the beneficiary or have a position of responsibility in the organization.

The Funding Agency may approve costs for a project no earlier than when the funding application has become pending and it has been provided with the basic information required to make a decision on the matter, including the mandatory attachments listed below.

Please attach the following mandatory attachments to your application:

• A project plan created using Business Finland’s project plan template (docx).
• List of shareholders. If the applicant is a subsidiary, also the parent company’s list of shareholders.
• Income statement and balance sheet (detailed, account-level versions) generated from the accounting system, no older than two months. The income statement must cover the period from the beginning of the current fiscal year.

You can also choose to attach a pitch deck or similar document to your application.

Only a person listed in the Trade Register as a representative of the company and authorized to represent the company alone, or a person granted Suomi.fi authorization, may create the application. Go to the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations web page, where you can give or request authorization for “Applying for corporate funding”.

Funding e-service