1 Advisory Services and Business Partnership Support for projects in developing countries Helena Kekki Aid for Trade seminar, Hanoi, 17 th march 2010

Agenda of the presentation Introduction to the programme and its tools Finnpartnership experiences in Vietnam Success stories financed by Finnpartnership Conclusion and contact details 2

3 Finnpartnership Finnish Business Partnership Programme Financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and managed by development finance institution Finnfund. The objective is to promote business cooperation between companies in Finland and in developing countries in order to increase long-term business partnerships. Tools to achieve the objective –Matchmaking service for Vietnamese companies for the identification of Finnish business partners. –Business Partnership Support (financial grant) for Finnish companies and organisations for their projects in Vietnam. –Advisory services and networking

Matchmaking - Identifying Business Partnerships Finnpartnership channels business partnership initiatives and opportunities from companies in Vietnam to Finnish companies and vice versa. Business initiatives are published on Finnpartnership's matchmaking forum ( and will be forwarded directly to eligible companies in Finland. 4

5 Business Partnership Support (grant) A grant type of seed capital for projects aiming at long-term business partnerships in developing countries: –imports from Vietnam to Finland (value added) –transfer of technology or know-how from Finland to Vietnam –pilot projects in Vietnam related to Finnish environmental technology –establishing of subsidiaries or joint ventures in Vietnam –other project including long-term partnerships and cooperation Available for Finnish actors –companies registered in Finland or elsewhere that have substantial links to Finland –research facilities, universities or similar organizations based in Finland –associations registered in Finland

Business Partnership Support (grant) Maximum amount of grant for one project is EUR Can be used to cover part of expenses: –expenses incurred in the planning phases of joint projects. –expenses related to employee training and business development of existing partnership project. 6 ApplicantCoverage amount SME’s and other small organisations70% Other companies50%

7 Advisory services Information to Finnish companies on actors and business environment of developing countries. Networking events, round tables, seminars Monthly newsletters Information on Finland as target market for business, for example, a guide book ’Exporting to Finland’ (

Finnpartnership experiences in Vietnam

Matchmaking - Identifying Business Partnerships 33 Matchmaking requests from VN companies 24 qualified for the service In 2009, 10 companies registered, 30% reported to have results 9

Business Partnership Support Projects in Vietnam 44 projects in Vietnam have been registered –31 eligible and received the Business Partnership Support –7 rejected (not eligible) –6 currently under review Approved project expenses for the eligible 31 projects has been –EUR total –avg. EUR /project 10

Approved applications (31) by industry 11

Success story: Fox Dance A Finnish firm selling dancewear, Fox Dance, aimed to start importing high-quality dance costumes Fox Dance received funding from Finnpartnership and toured Vietnam in 2007 with an aim to find – exactly the right skills needed to produce costumes – local fabrics to be used in the process "It was a compact and effective visit because Finnpartnership already had contacts in the country." Riitta Saaristo, CEO of the company The project was successful and Fox Dance was able to start co-operation with Vietnamese dressmakers and import Vietnam made products to Finland. 12

Success story: International Coffee Partners (ICP) ICP is a joint venture of five European coffee companies (incl. Finnish Paulig) Aim of the project in Vietnam was to improve profitability of smallholder coffee farmers by –improving agricultural practices, incl. codes of conduct of certifiers –creating better market access for private farmers. Finnpartnership financed the business plan and the development of education in the project. “Continuance is given a lot of thought and the aim is to continue the training even after the project has ended“. manager of ICP. 13

For more information Helena Kekki, Programme coordinator Finnpartnership c/o Finnfund - Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd. P.O.Box 391 (Uudenmaankatu 16 B), FI Helsinki, Finland 14

Developing business together Contact information Siv Ahlberg Programme Director Tel: Pauliina Halonen Programme Analyst Tel: Further information: Programme AssistantTel : Helena Kekki Programme Coordinator Tel: