NEW FINANCING ASSISTANCE FOR ENTERPRISES

The Business Service Voucher is the commitment of the City of Rovaniemi for compensating on behalf of the Recipient some of the price for services provided by the service provider up to a predetermined value.

The Business Service Voucher finances the development measures of enterprises. The term development measures means activities that affect the company in the long term, are strategically significant, and renew company operations.

The Business Service Voucher can be used for purchasing the following expert services related to the development of commercial activity:

• Planning internationalisation and implementing market research
• Participation in trade fairs related to internationalisation (in Finland and abroad); payments for participation, sales booth fees and travel expenses
• Funding and investment plans related to company growth, including applications
• Services for improving financial management
• Legal and contract advice
• Consultation and research services focused on growth intended for the boards of directors and executive committees of companies
• Company strategy and governance
• Product development, commercialisation and service design
• Development of company digitalisation
• Services related to the development of sales and marketing
• Appraisals, legal and contract advice related to change in ownership

The enterprise granted the voucher can independently decide from which company they purchase services using the voucher. As the organisation granting the vouchers, the City of Rovaniemi is not responsible for the selection made by the customer. The service provider and customer enterprise granted the voucher shall mutually agree on the terms and conditions of providing the service in question. The City of Rovaniemi, as the organisation granting the voucher, is not a contractual party.

The Business Service Voucher must be applied for before starting the expert service; at the applicant's own risk before the decisions are informed. For example, the conclusion of a contract or order for it, the initiation of a measure related to a service or the payment for a service, or any other irrevocable commitment to perform a service, constitutes the commencement of the service.

The value of Business Service Vouchers granted by the City of Rovaniemi are

• 2,500 euros (VAT 0%) OR
•  5,000 euros (VAT 0%)

of which the company shall itself fund 20% (i.e. 500 euros or 1,000 euros). According to their requirements, the enterprise can apply for a voucher for one or the other sum. The Business Service Voucher is valid for a period of six months from the date issued.

The funds available for granting the Business Service Voucher in 2021 total 150,000 euros.

The granting of the vouchers is deliberated by Business Rovaniemi, i.e. the organisation providing economic development and business services for the City of Rovaniemi.

A Business Service Voucher can be granted to a company once every two years.

Very possibly, yes! However, there are a few conditions and criteria that have to be met before receiving Business Service Voucher.

The voucher is made available to small and medium-sized enterprises (Business ID / VAT number) that have permanent premises based in Rovaniemi who are focusing on growth or internationalisation, require company renewal and/or strategic development. Vouchers are not available for housing and property companies or investment companies.

Before submitting the application, the company applicant should also examine the expert services of approved service providers using the service provider register (in Finnish).

The company granted the Business Service Voucher shall independently select the service provider they require using the Vaana.fi service provider system. The service provider and customer enterprise agree between themselves on the terms and conditions for the provision of the service.

You can apply for a Business Service Voucher by completing the application form intended for customer enterprises. The second application period for 2021 is 1 September –30 September, 2021. Decisions will be made by the end of October 2021 at as quick a pace as possible and all applicants will be informed of the decision.

Please prepare and fill in the application with care, and read the instructions for completing the form. Please deliver all the necessary appendices, the lack of appendices required will cause the rejection. If you need any other information at all, please do not hesitate to contact the business developers of Business Rovaniemi. Please try to submit the application in good time before the end of the application period, as this will speed up the decision-making process, because applications are processed for the purpose of decision making in a first-come, first-served basis and already during the application period.

Appendices required for the application:

• the most recently approved financial statements: in pdf or scanned format, with a maximum of five (5) appendices
• the most recent accounting report for the current financial year: so-called long-term income statement and balance sheet, including a comparison to the previous financial year, either as a pdf or scanned document, with a maximum of five (5)
• appendicescertificate of tax debt, and if the company has tax debts, verification of the tax repayment plan approved by the Tax Administration: in pdf or scanned format, with a maximum of five (5) appendices. The online tax debt register can be found from here
  

When applying, the entrepreneur must provide assurances that the information is correct.

If you are uncertain about something, please contact our business developers Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. before submitting the application. An incomplete or deficient application will cause delays in the decision-making and lead to the rejection of the application. The lack of appendices required will cause the rejection.

A company that has been granted the Business Service Voucher can independently select the service provider they require using our service provider register.  We are constantly updating the register. You will find all accepted service providers and all their approved expert services from here.

Service provider means a company that provides the Expert Services funded using the Business Service Voucher. Companies approved as service providers and their approved expert services are registered using the service voucher system used by the City of Rovaniemi. You can apply to become a service provider using the Business Rovaniemi link below.

A company that can be approved as a Business Service Voucher service provider must satisfy the criteria stated in the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out and be registered with the Reliable Partner (Luotettava Kumppani) service that enables the granting organisation to check that the aforementioned criteria have been met. The application time for service voucher providers is continuous.

Find the application form here (in Finnish): APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PROVIDER

Find more information about the Rovaniemi Business Service Voucher, including e.g. billing information from our instructions :  Guidebook  (in Finnish)

Please contact our business developers if you have any questions. If you have been unable to reach our advisers for further information, please send us an email request for us to contact you to yrityspalvelut@rovaniemi.fi. We will contact you as soon as we can.

Find out more about searching for service providers and implementation of the Rovaniemi Business Service Voucher from the first information briefing from 1 April 2020: from here  (in Finnish)

Watch the recording of the public presentation of the Rovaniemi Business Service Voucher from 5 June 2020 from here  (in Finnish)