Glossary
Funding and finance terms in plain language
The words that come up when Finnish founders look for funding, explained without the jargon. Each one says what it means and why it matters to you.
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Cash flow
Company size
EU rules
Financing
Regional aid
Any label
Cash flow
Debt
Eligibility
Equity
EU programmes
Grants
Providers
Rural
State aid
Years at the start of a loan when you pay interest but no principal. Business Finland R&D loans include three to five of them.
A package that combines a grant with an equity investment. The EIC Accelerator is the main example: up to €2.5M grant plus a €1–10M…
A loan a bank gives your foreign customer to pay for your delivery, with Finnvera guaranteeing the bank's risk.
The EU Common Agricultural Policy funds rural business support such as startup money, investment and development grants, through Ruokavirasto and Leader groups.
A subordinated loan under the Companies Act that counts as equity on the balance sheet. It ranks behind all other creditors.
The days between paying for goods or work and getting paid by your customer. Every day in it is cash the business must finance.
Aid paid afterwards as a refund of part of what you have spent. Finland's AV incentive returns 25% of eligible Finnish production costs.
A group of independent partners that apply for and run a project together. Required in Eurostars and common in EU programmes.
Conditions attached to a loan, like a minimum equity ratio, that you must keep to for the whole term. Breaching one can make it…
EU rules cap 'minor' state support at €300,000 per company group over any rolling three-year period. Most SME grants and soft loans count toward…
EU-funded hubs that give SMEs free or subsidised digitalisation help, including AI and cybersecurity, on a test-before-invest basis.
The regional state agencies that took over the ELY centres' business services in 2025. They grant business development and rural aid.
The European Regional Development Fund is the EU structural fund behind much of Finland's regional business aid. Calls are announced on rakennerahastot.fi.
An intergovernmental R&D network of 45+ countries. Eurostars projects need partners from at least two Eureka countries.
You hand invoices to a finance company that pays most of their value now and collects from your customer later. It costs a fee.
The Finnish state's financing company. It mostly guarantees bank loans rather than lending directly, taking part of the risk off the bank.
The EU General Block Exemption Regulation lets states grant R&D, regional and energy aid without case-by-case approval from Brussels, at fixed rate caps.
The share of sales left after the direct cost of what you sold, before overheads. It sets how much cash your stock and bills…
Ruokavirasto's online system where rural funding applications and payment claims are filed.
The EU Just Transition Fund finances business diversification in regions affected by the peat phase-out, granted in Finland by the Elinvoimakeskus.
If another company controls over 50% of yours (or you of it), EU rules add its headcount and figures to yours when your size…
A grant paid as a fixed sum against agreed results instead of itemised cost receipts. Lighter admin, and sometimes a higher rate.
Financing between bank debt and equity. It is repaid after other lenders if things go wrong, so it costs more, but it strengthens the…
A company larger than an EU SME (250+ employees) but with turnover up to €300M. Business Finland and Finnvera use it to extend some…
An agreement that lets your account go below zero up to a set limit. You pay a fee for the limit and interest only…
Share capital and other equity the owners have actually paid into the company. Business Finland uses it as a solvency check, and Sprint needs…
The agreed time a customer has to pay an invoice. Each day of it directly affects how much cash is tied up in the…
The part of a project you must fund yourself, with own funds or bank debt. Rural investment support, for example, requires at least 25%.
A credit rating from Suomen Asiakastieto. Finnvera's SME Guarantee requires at least an A rating.
You sell machinery you own to a finance company and lease it back. The machine stays in use and the capital tied to it…
Under 250 employees and turnover of €50M or less (or a balance sheet of €43M or less), counted together with linked and partner companies,…
Public support that gives a company a selective economic advantage. EU law restricts it, which is why every instrument names its legal basis.
Finland's regional-aid map (2022–27) allows the highest investment-aid rates in Area I, where small companies can reach up to 40%. The south gets less.
The unrestricted equity reserve of a Finnish company: money invested without new shares up front. The usual wrapper for SAFE-style deals.
Part of the TyEL pension contributions you have paid over the years can be borrowed back from the pension company as a loan.
A right to buy shares later at a price agreed now. Venture-debt lenders typically take warrants as part of their return.
Money tied up in running the business (inventory, receivables, wages) as opposed to investments. Grants rarely fund it; guarantees and loans can.
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