The Team Finland Network is organizing a business delegation visit to the State of Texas on 27-31 March 2022. The visit is led by Mr. Ville Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
This visit coincides with the opening of the new Finnair flight route from Helsinki to Dallas on 27 of March. The target of the visit is trade and investment promotion and strengthening of the Finnish-American collaboration, with a special focus on connectivity, energy, and port and logistics sectors in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin.
Texas is the economic powerhouse by any measure and is known for its energy industry and the world leading energy companies' headquarters. Leading energy companies in Texas, both large and small, are beginning to embrace clean energy technologies and alternative fuels. This fundamental change to green economy creates business opportunities for Finnish companies.
Texas is a major center for commercial activity across all sectors with a population of 29 million and an annual economic output exceeding $2 trillion. The Dallas-Fort Worth metoplex is home to major technology firms as well many corporate headquarters, logistic centers, and warehouse facilities. Houston is especially known for its energy sector and its extensive port facilities. Austin has rocketed from a small college town to a world-famous center for new technologies and attracting smart, young talent and innovative technology companies.
Today, Texas is diverse politically and ethnically, yet the eagerness for doing business is common across the board. State of Texas is a popular site for Finnish companies to establish themselves, likely due to the low tax burden and the strong ecosystems in specific industries. According to Economic Development and Tourism Office of Texas (EDT), the State is the second most popular destination for Finnish exports, behind only California.
Who should attend?
This onsite visit is targeted at Finnish companies and research organizations whose focus is telecommunications equipment and services, connectivity, power generation, energy storage, smart grid, smart home, digitalization, port technology, software and logistics. Whilst the visit focuses on these sectors, we also welcome Finnish companies and Finnish companies' local representatives from other sectors pursuing business opportunities in Texas.
We are closely following the Covid-19 travel restrictions and upcoming changes related to them. Kindly note that all delegates are required to have proof of two vaccinations to be able to take part in the visit program.
Practicalities
To cover the expenses of arranging the visit, Business Finland will charge a participation fee.
- Micro Businesses and SMEs: 1785 EUR + 24% VAT per person
- Major Companies: 2100 EUR + 24% VAT per person
Business Finland will invoice the participation fee after the visit based on the actual costs. The invoiced fee will not exceed the amounts mentioned above. Kindly note that the participation fee does not include flights or accommodation of the participant nor meals outside the business delegation program.
Program
The visit program will consist of meetings with business counterparts, senior public officials, and top university researchers, as well as site visits to top connectivity, smart city, energy and port companies.
