Rural business funding  in Uusimaa

CAP-period 2023-2027

Implementation of Finland's new CAP Strategic Plan (2023-2027) is currently underway:

You can now apply for  agricultural investment subsidies and Startup support for young farmers, as well as for business and project subsidies. The applications in Hyrrä service must be done in Finnish or Swedish.

Selection periods:

Selection periods for financial support under the Rural Development Fund at the ELY Centre for Uusimaa

Is my company in an eligible area?

Please note: Agricultural investment subsidies and start-up support for young farmers are granted without restrictions in the entire Uusimaa region.Check your company's eligibility for support in the map application on the on Rural development page, which provides more detailed information the eligible area:

Rural Development in Uusimaa

Support for new entrepreneurs

The support for the start-up phase is intended for diverse situations in the early stages of entrepreneurship in rural areas. Support can be granted for activities ranging from the planning of business activities to trying entrepreneurship and launching the operation. The business activities may occupy the applicant part-time or full-time.

A person interested in entrepreneurship who does not yet engage in business activities may get planning support for specialist services for determining the preconditions for business activities and developing the business idea. Similarly, support for preparing the launch of the business activities may be granted for the preparation of a business plan and a development plan as well as for exploring funding opportunities. When purchasing a company located in a sparsely populated rural area or a rural heartland area, it is also possible to get support for obtaining the expert services required in the preparation of the business acquisition.

Pilot subsidy for business activities can be granted to cover costs of trying entrepreneurship for up to four months. The pilot subsidy is suitable for unemployed persons, wage earners, students, young people under 18 years of age and other persons who do not engage in economic activities at the time of the application. Similarly, start-up support for part-time and full-time business activities can be used for the rents of premises and equipment, user fees and acquisition of expert services required for the start-up.

You can apply for the support in the Hyrrä e-service before starting the activity. The support is a fixed amount between EUR 1,000 and EUR 7,500, depending on the form of support. Support for new entrepreneurs is granted as subsidies under the Leader programme.

More information on support for new entrepreneurs:

website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Investment and development aids for a company

Investment aid is intended for rural micro and small enterprises and diversified farms in rural areas. The aid is applied for before starting the investment. The investment may concern fixed assets that are essential for the establishment, growth or development of the company. The fixed assets to be acquired may be both tangible and intangible as long as the beneficiary is entitled to depreciate them. For reasons of expediency and competitiveness, sectors and targets such as retail or wholesale trade units and investments into premises in industrial areas within peri-urban areas have mainly been excluded from the scope of the aid. Familiarise yourself with the funding guidelines for business subsidies in Uusimaa:

Funding guidelines for business subsidies (pdf in Finnish)

The subsidised costs may amount to EUR 10,000–1.5 million and the support level may be 20–30% depending on the location of the company, 35–40% for islands with no fixed road connection.

The beneficiary undertakes to carry out the supported activities to the intended extent and to use the assets covered by the subsidy for at least three years. The maximum period of use that can be determined in the support decision is 10 years. A breach of this condition results in the recovery of the subsidy. Deviations from this time limit may be made in case of a change of ownership or replacement investments. It is important to contact the party granting the subsidy in advance about the change, and without delay about changes in circumstances affecting the company’s operation in general.  

Similarly, microenterprises can apply for the Leader investment subsidy for a project of at least EUR 5,000 and up to EUR 100,000, as well as for the Leader energy investment aid. In sparsely populated rural areas and rural heartland areas, energy investment aid is granted for changing over to renewable energy, increasing its use and improving energy and material efficiency. The aid also applies to energy produced for the company's own use. Energy investment aids shall not exceed 30 % of the eligible costs.

In addition, the examination of the preconditions for the technical and financial implementation of a tangible investment may be supported. The supported costs of the feasibility study may be between EUR 3,000 and EUR 50,000 and the aid may not exceed 50%.

In addition to investments, the company can also be developed in several other ways. Support for the development of business activities has been designed specifically for these situations in which the activities are renewed by developing and introducing products, services, production methods, marketing or digital solutions. The support cannot be used to implement an individual work assignment that has been ordered, the activity must be clearly separated from the company's basic business activities as a project of its own. The support shall be no more than 50% of the eligible costs, which can be between EUR 5,000 and EUR 100,000.

Funding under the Leader programme can also be used to support smaller-scale development projects and development projects of part-time companies. Leader support can be used for obtaining external
development and specialist services, for example. The aid amount is EUR 3,000 and may be granted to the same beneficiary three times in total, provided that the previous development measure has been implemented.

Further information on investment and development aid:

website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Processing and sales of agricultural products

In the processing of agricultural products and offering them for sale, support is provided not only to micro and small enterprises, but also to medium-sized enterprises. The maximum amount of eligible costs in the investment is EUR 2 million and the aid level is 15–30 %. The highest level of aid applies to micro and small enterprises operating in sparsely populated rural areas and the lowest level to medium-sized enterprises located close to cities. The aid is applied for from the ELY Centre before starting the investment.

Further information:

 website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Production of renewable energy and biofuels

Investments in renewable energy and biofuel production may be supported when the plant produces up to 2 MW of energy for sale and it is new or its technology has been substantially renovated. Products produced by the company for sale may be heat, electricity, biogas, bioethanol and biodiversity. The maximum amount of eligible costs in the investment is EUR 2 million and the aid level is 20–50%. The lowest aid level applies to the extension or upgrading of an existing plant and the highest for new biogas plants. The aid is applied for before starting the investment.

Further information:

 website of the FinnishFood Authority (in Finnish)

Business subsidies for farms

A farm that aims for growth by diversifying its income to business activities beyond agriculture and forestry may be granted start-up support for the diversification of the farm. These new business activities beyond agriculture and forestry must be carried out in connection with agriculture under the same business ID and aim for a turnover of at least EUR 15,000. The subsidy may also be granted for recently launched activities, as long as not more than one tax year has passed since the start of the activities at the time of the application. The subsidy is a fixed amount of EUR 5,000 or EUR 10,000.

The same investment and development aids are available for developing the business activities of diversified farms as for other rural enterprises.

An entirely new form of Leader support for farms is the pilot subsidy for agriculture. It is granted for agriculture experimented with for the first time or for the diversification of agricultural activities other that the usual and well-established agricultural activities of an existing farm. The pilot may last a maximum of three years. The subsidy is applied for before starting the activity and the amount is EUR 2,500, 5,000 or 7,500, depending on the extent of the project.  

Further information on business subsidies for farms:

website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Local Action Groups in Finland are called Leader-groups

The Leader programme implements community-oriented local development. The aim of the EU’s co-financed activities is to improve the vitality of rural areas, develop local services and livelihoods, support microenterprises and entrepreneurship, and increase inclusion, equality and non-discrimination. Leader activities consist of activation of people and communities, provision of advice to them and funding for the implementation of ideas. Four Leader groups operate in Uusimaa. The operating areas of the groups have been divided by municipality. For the contact details of the Leader group in your area, visit our website:

Leader groups - ELY Centre (in Finnish)

Online application

The application is filled in online via the Hyrrä service in Finnish or Swedish. The Hyrrä service makes it easy to submit an application, monitor the processing of the application, and browse your own application information.

The following links provide further information:

Information required for applications

Selection of company projects for funding

After the call for business subsidy applications has been opened, the call will be open continuously. The ELY Centre processes the initiated applications during selection periods of 2–3 months.

Selection periods for business subsidies:

  • 16 October–15 January
  • 16 January–15 March
  • 16 March–15 May
  • 16 May–15 August
  • 16 August–15 October

The company projects to be funded are selected by scoring the applications according to the selection criteria approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

In the selection, the greatest emphasis is placed on the financial added value the measure generates for the company and the second greatest emphasis on the implementation of the regional objectives of rural development. The other four selection criteria are project feasibility, the employment provided, overall sustainability and the place of implementation.

Read more about the selection criteria for business funding:

website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Leader groups prepare their own selection criteria based on local conditions. The group's Board selects the projects to be supported within the framework of the funding available to the group.  

Ask the Leader group in your area about the selection periods:

Leader groups - ELY Centre (in Finnish)

Applying for the payment of business subsidy (2023-2027)

The payment of the subsidy is applied for in the Hyrrä e-service.

The support for new entrepreneurs, the support for new business activities to be launched on a farm and the Leader development subsidies will be paid in one instalment after the start-up or development measures required in the support decision have been implemented.
Investment aid and other cost-based aids are paid in one or several instalments, as a percentage of the actual eligible costs according to the aid percentage. The application for the payment of the aid shall be accompanied by a breakdown showing the expenditure incurred, the progress of the measure and the accounting documents verifying the acquisition made and that the expenditure has been paid by the beneficiary. For acquisitions exceeding EUR 3,000, an account of the reasonableness of the costs must be presented, unless this has already been explained in the aid application.
The final instalment must be applied for within four months of the end of the project implementation period. The final payment application for construction must be accompanied by the minutes of the final inspection required in the building permit or action permit decision. No advance payment is made.

The Finnish Food Authority will provide more information on the payment application procedure once the call for applications for business subsidies has been opened.

Payment of business subsidy for projects from the previous programming period (2014–2022)

The payment can be applied for on the basis of the final and verifiable costs as approved in the support decision. The documents verifying these costs must be presented. The subsidy may be paid in instalments. The payment of the last instalment must be applied for within 4 months of the deadline for implementing the measure.

Instructions and forms related to applying for payments concerning projects funded under the Rural Development Programme 2014–2020 and during the transition period 2021–2022 can be found through the following link:

Payment instructions, forms and contact information

Advice - use the free advice service where needed

Free advice on completing an application and forming a business plan can be obtained through development companies in the Uusimaa region and through the Uusimaa HYMY project.

More information on subsidies and the Hyrrä system

Business specialists at the Uusimaa ELY Centre

  • Email: maaseuturahoitus.uusimaa(a)ely-keskus.fi

Uusimaa Leader groups

 

Päivitetty: 27.03.2024