Business Finland Challenge Competition for Leading Companies 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed €80 Million Round

Business Finland Challenge Competition for Leading Companies 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed €80 Million Round

Historical reference — this competition is closed. Business Finland marks its 2026 Challenge Competition for Leading Companies as ended, with the first-phase proposal deadline on 11 September 2026 at 23:59 Finnish time. The official call page and the currently checked funding-call listing contain no successor competition announcement. The dates, funding levels, eligibility and submission route below describe the closed 2026 round; they are not an invitation to apply. Check Business Finland’s call page and listings for a new announcement before preparing an application.

Most corporate R&D grants ask what you plan to build. This competition asked a broader question: how much more would your group spend on research and development in Finland, in euros, over the project — and which other organisations would join the work?

Business Finland’s challenge competition, known in Finnish as the veturikilpailu or “locomotive competition,” has run since 2020. The 2026 call instructions reported that 32 leading companies had been selected in earlier competitions; they had committed to increasing their own R&D investments by more than three billion euros, and more than 1,000 R&D projects at other companies and research organisations had started in their ecosystems. The 2026 round opened on 1 April and closed its first phase on Friday 11 September 2026 at 23:59.

Business Finland planned a total of €80 million for the 2026 challenge competition. Separately, its instructions described approximate partnership funding for the ecosystems: about €50 million for category 1 and €20–30 million for category 2, with a possible increase for a returning category 1 company. The call presents those ecosystem figures as partner funding, not an unrestricted payment to the lead company. The allocation and estimates apply to this closed round; verify the terms afresh if another call is announced.

Key Details

What the Money Actually Funds

There are two funding streams, and confusing them is the fastest way to misjudge whether this fits you.

The first stream was funding for the leading company’s own R&D project: up to €20 million in category 1 and up to €10 million in category 2. For projects that mainly involve industrial research, the grant could cover up to 40 percent of total eligible project costs. Business Finland’s normal R&D funding criteria applied, with one stated exception: a large company’s own project was not required to include purchased services from research organisations or SMEs, which is otherwise a standard condition on large-corporation R&D funding.

The second stream was partnership funding for the ecosystem the leading company assembled. Business Finland said it was prepared to grant approximately €50 million to a category 1 ecosystem over the project and roughly €20–30 million for category 2. If a returning category 1 company raised its own project funding to €35 million, the ecosystem figure could rise to approximately €75 million. This money was not paid to the leading company. It was intended for individual partner companies’ R&D projects, Co-Innovation joint projects between companies and/or research organisations, and Co-Research funding for research organisations working on the leading company’s roadmap.

That structure was central to the call. The leading company was expected to act as a hub: activate partners, prepare a roadmap, and help SMEs and research organisations develop their own funded projects around a shared mission.

The Two Competition Categories

Category 1 is for companies that already operate globally, have the capacity to make major additional R&D investments in Finland, and need an ecosystem to deliver on them. This is the heavyweight track.

Category 2 is for companies striving to grow into global players, solving a more focused challenge together with an ecosystem, developing genuinely new business openings, or strengthening their role within an internationally operating group. The additional R&D investment promises expected here are described as “slightly smaller” than in category 1.

Two companies working on a common large challenge may apply together in either category. The competition is not limited to any theme or technology topic — Business Finland’s named contacts span bioeconomy and natural resources, consumer and creative industries, electronics and industrial solutions, energy transition, health and food, ICT/AI/data/quantum, intelligent machines and maritime, and space, defence and connectivity.

One constraint worth reading carefully: the same company may receive leading company funding several times, but in a maximum of two consecutive competitions. Business Finland states this openly as a way of limiting the risk of concentrating public innovation funding.

Who This Genuinely Fits

For the 2026 round, applicants needed to make a credible promise. The instructions said that the greater the absolute R&D increase promise, the more competitive the entry. That promise was not rhetorical: payment indicators were attached during funding-application processing, with defined weights:

• R&D increase in Finland by the leading company, measured in millions of euros: weight 70 percent
• Ecosystem developed by the leading company: weight 30 percent, made up of the number of co-innovation projects, the number of EU applications, and the number of partners

If the promised additional R&D investment or ecosystem development does not materialise, funding may be suspended or payments reduced. The R&D figure is not a self-defined number either — it is the R&D expenditure the company reports to Statistics Finland.

The closed round was suited to a company that had a board-level intention to grow its Finnish R&D base substantially over three to five years, could define a mission that credibly needed partners, and was prepared to be measured on both. It was a poor fit for an applicant seeking a subsidy for work it would have done at the same scale anyway.

Business Finland also examines wider impact — effects on the national economy, on society, and on the creation of new knowledge and expertise. It monitors these, but they do not affect payment.

What the First-Phase Proposal Must Contain

The first-phase submission was not a funding application. It was a declaration of participation in the competition. It could be written in Finnish, Swedish, or English, and had to use the template in Appendix I of the call instructions. The submission window has closed; the steps here are retained to explain what applicants were asked to prepare, not to suggest that late entries can still be sent.

The format was tight: a cover page plus a maximum of ten pages, accompanied by a preliminary pitch deck following Appendix II. Notes and additional information were permitted, but reviewers were only committed to assessing the ten-page proposal, so substantive claims belonged inside the limit.

The cover page called for a summary of up to 2,000 characters (not public), the tentative funding request for both the company and the ecosystem, and an impact table projecting the group’s R&D personnel and R&D expenditure in Finland from a 2025 reference year through 2027, 2028, and the project’s end year. It also requested the project name, company business ID, accountable manager and contact person, and three preferred pitching times.

The ten pages are structured in five sections:

1. Mission and situation overview — the challenge and future need, the uniqueness of the idea, market potential, the competitive situation in Finland and internationally, Finland’s competitive advantage, the mission’s place in company strategy, and why an ecosystem is needed at all.
2. Impact and indicators — development of R&D investment as reported to Statistics Finland, possible green transition and digitalisation effects, other benefits to Finland such as new clusters, new companies, competitiveness, tax revenue, environmental and health impacts, and top management’s commitment.
3. Necessary funding — estimates of Business Finland and other funding for both the leading company and the ecosystem, and specifically what change Business Finland’s money would enable.
4. Tentative roadmap — what must be done, whose input is needed, what existing initiatives can be joined (particularly in the EU), what national and international measures would help including legislation and standardisation, and a preliminary schedule with milestones.
5. Project plan of the leading company — a concise preliminary description covering the team, resources, ecosystem-strengthening and competence measures, and a communication plan.

Business Finland’s instructions said sections 1 and 2 in particular would be examined during the first-phase evaluation. These requirements describe the closed 2026 round. A future call may change its template, page limit, required material, or submission channel; applicants should follow the new call documents if published.

Timeline and the Pitch

The official schedule for the closed competition was:

• 1 April 2026 — competition opened; an information webinar followed on 21 April, with a recording linked from the call page.
• 11 September 2026, 23:59 — first-phase proposal and preliminary pitch deck due. This deadline has passed.
• 18–28 September 2026 — oral presentations scheduled on 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 28 September, morning or afternoon. This period has passed.
• By 23 October 2026 — planned selection for further negotiations.
• October–December 2026 — planned sparring discussions with selected companies.
• Q1 2027 — target period for funding decisions, according to the instructions.

For the completed first phase, the instructions said that companies submitting by the deadline would in principle be invited to pitch, though clearly incomplete proposals or proposals outside the competition’s objectives might not be. Presentations were scheduled for 20 minutes plus at least 30 minutes of questions and had to follow Appendix II. A representative of top management was expected to explain the project’s connection to company strategy and leadership’s commitment. Presenters had to be employees, managers, or owners of the applicant company.

The cover page requested three preferred pitching slots. This is a historical process detail; those dates have passed.

How the Panel Evaluates

A panel of Business Finland experts assesses all written and oral material. The first-phase evaluation is explicitly focused on impact, against these criteria:

• Increased R&D investment in Finland (as reported to Statistics Finland) and the effectiveness of that increase
• Clarity and novelty of the mission and its goals, and the genuine need for an ecosystem to achieve them
• Export business potential for the leading company and the ecosystem
• Integration of the project into the core of the company’s strategy, and top management commitment
• Finnish interest — benefits to the Finnish economy, added value remaining in Finland, other positive social impacts
• The importance of Business Finland’s funding in sharing R&D risk

Business Finland also assesses the credibility and realism of what you claim, whether your schedules are feasible, and what could go wrong in implementation. All companies receive evaluation feedback. Proposals and evaluations are confidential; the names of participants and of those advancing are not published.

The second phase adds feasibility to impact. Roughly two rounds of negotiation and sparring let applicants refine their proposal, and assessment covers the quality of the draft R&D project plan (including whether resources and a committed team genuinely exist), the planned actions and commitment to ecosystem development via the roadmap, and a plan for using other domestic and international R&D funding. That phase ends with the best-matching companies being asked to submit an actual R&D funding application, with a project plan, cost estimate, and an appendix specifying payment indicators and target figures. Being asked does not bind Business Finland to fund — funding is always discretionary.

Obligations After a Win

These are not afterthoughts; they are conditions written into the call.

The funded leading company must launch a dedicated website within one month of the funding decision, clearly describing the roadmap, the ecosystem’s goals, who the ecosystem suits, and contact details. It must organise at least one open event per year to publicise results and attract new participants. It must communicate actively about ecosystem events, project progress, and especially new partners — and all communications must name Business Finland as the financier.

Applicants must also demonstrate measurable, significant cooperation with research organisations and/or SMEs, support those partners in running parallel projects, prepare a roadmap for domestic R&D cooperation, create concrete plans for EU cooperation, and describe connections to Academy of Finland flagships and comparable national and international research collaborations, as named in the 2026 instructions. Business Finland expects European and other international sources — Horizon Europe, Eureka, ESA, CEF, InvestEU, the EIB and EIF, and Nordic instruments such as Nordic Innovation, NordForsk and Nordic Energy Research — to be used as effectively as possible alongside its own funding.

What a Future Applicant Should Recheck

These points follow from the 2026 call’s evaluation design. They may remain useful if Business Finland opens another competition, but they are not a substitute for new instructions.

Begin with a verified Finnish R&D baseline. The 2026 template requested the group’s R&D personnel and R&D expenditure in Finland, using 2025 as its reference year, then projections for later years. Any future proposal should use the reference period stated in its own template and reconcile projections with the figures reported to Statistics Finland.

Secure leadership and finance input early. In the 2026 round, the promised increase in Finnish R&D spending was a material commitment. Business Finland defined payment indicators during funding-application processing: R&D increase carried 70 percent of the indicator weight, and ecosystem development 30 percent, measured through co-innovation projects, EU applications and partner numbers. The instructions warned that missed commitments could lead to suspended funding or reduced payments. A future applicant should check whether the same weights and consequences apply before using them.

Describe an ecosystem as working collaboration. The 2026 call expected measurable cooperation with research organisations and/or SMEs, parallel partner projects, a domestic R&D roadmap, and concrete EU cooperation plans. Listing prospective participants alone would not explain how their projects fit the mission. A new call may revise what it expects, so verify its criteria rather than assuming these carry over unchanged.

Build the mission around the stated challenge. The 2026 instructions looked for a response to a major future challenge or significant technological challenge, a credible contribution to Finland’s competence and competitiveness, export potential, and a clear reason an ecosystem was needed. A product plan by itself would not address all those questions.

Check the new application mechanics. The 2026 round required the Appendix I template, a proposal of no more than ten pages plus cover page, and a preliminary pitch deck using Appendix II. Business Finland said reviewers were committed to reading the ten-page proposal, with sections on the mission and impact receiving particular attention. Do not reuse this page limit or these appendices without checking a future call’s documents.

Process Details to Remember from 2026

The 2026 instructions made several process distinctions that explain the archived application materials:

• The first phase was a competition proposal, not a funding application. Selected companies would refine their implementation plan and indicators in a second phase, and only then might be asked to submit a full R&D funding application.
• Entries were requested primarily through Business Finland’s secure email service. The stated subject line was NAME OF APPLICANT ORGANIZATION: Leading Companies Competition 2026 - Veturikilpailu 2026. Post and hand delivery to the Porkkalankatu 1 reception were also accepted under the receipt rules in the instructions. These channels relate only to the closed call.
• The first-phase cover page requested three pitching preferences, and the oral presentation required top-management participation. The scheduled dates have now passed.
• Ecosystem funding was for partner R&D projects, including individual company projects, Co-Innovation projects, and Co-Research projects aligned with the lead company’s roadmap; it was not an unrestricted allocation to the leading company.
• Business Finland expected applicants to consider international funding alongside its own support, including European, Nordic and EIB/EIF sources.
• Returning companies could seek the higher amounts specified for their category, but additional funding required a further increase in total R&D expenditure in Finland. Funding as a leading company was limited to two consecutive competitions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a theme or sector restriction? No. The competition has no restrictions on the industries or R&D topics of participating companies. Business Finland lists thematic contact persons across eight areas to help applicants find the right expert.

Can two companies apply together? Yes, in both categories, where they are working to solve a common large challenge.

How much of project costs could the grant cover? Under the 2026 instructions, up to 40 percent of total eligible costs for projects mainly involving industrial research.

Does the leading company receive the ecosystem money? No. Ecosystem funding is granted directly to partner companies and research organisations through R&D, Co-Innovation, and Co-Research instruments, aligned with the leading company’s roadmap.

Will my participation be public? Not during the competition. Proposals and evaluations are confidential and the names of participants or those advancing are not published. After a funding decision, the recipient’s name, the funding amount, and a summary of the mission and impacts are published.

In what languages could the proposal be submitted? The 2026 proposal could be written in Finnish, Swedish, or English.

Official Links and Contacts

The official 2026 call page marks this competition as ended and links the call instructions PDF, the April 21 information webinar recording, and background on previously funded leading companies and ecosystems. The funding overview for leading companies and ecosystems provides wider programme context. The official call page marks the 2026 round as ended, and the currently checked funding-call listing contains no later challenge-competition announcement. Check those pages again before treating the programme as open.

Thematic contacts, using the pattern [email protected]: Janne Peräjoki (bioeconomy, natural resources and minerals), Ella Kylmäaho (consumer and creative industries), Harri Laajarinne (electronics and industrial solutions), Tiina Rajamäki (energy transition), Eeva Salminen (health and food), Sami Heikkiniemi (ICT, AI, data and quantum technologies), Juha Suuronen (intelligent machines and maritime), and Kimmo Kanto (space, defence and connectivity). General customer service is on +358 29 50 55000, weekdays 08:00–16:30.

The 2026 round’s application and pitching periods are over. The first-phase proposal deadline was 11 September 2026, and the scheduled presentations ran from 18 to 28 September 2026. Business Finland’s instructions gave October–December 2026 as the negotiation period for selected companies and Q1 2027 as the target for funding decisions; those are the schedule goals published in the call, not confirmation that a particular company advanced or received funding. For a future round, verify the call status, dates, funding amounts, eligibility, template and delivery method directly with Business Finland. Its current documents govern.