Finnvera resumes the loan to micro-enterprises and opens loan application also for start-ups in February 2026

Finnvera is relaunching the loans for micro-enterprise growth projects. The application will start in February and the loan can be applied for until the end of July 2026. The assessments on the micro-enterprise loan pilot, which ended in March 2025, have been completed, and based on them, especially micro-enterprises seeking growth and internationalisation, as well as the smallest companies with fewer than 4 people and the youngest micro-enterprises that have operated for a maximum of 5 years, have difficulties in obtaining bank financing for the measures required for growth. Financing difficulties also apply to newly-started companies. To ensure the growth potential of innovative and profitable ideas, companies that do not yet have their first financial statements can now also apply for a Finnvera loan. With the loan, Finnvera complements the financial market.

Finnvera granted loans for micro-enterprise growth projects in a six-month fixed-term pilot. From the beginning of October 2024 until the end of March 2025, a total of EUR 20 million was granted to approximately 440 companies. Based on the pilot, VATT, the State Economic Research Centre, monitored the allocation of loan financing and, among other things, the development of the turnover and number of personnel of the companies that received the loan. Based on the preliminary results, the turnover of the companies that received the loan has clearly risen to a growth track and the companies have hired new employees. 

“Impact assessment is only based on short-term results, but the loan clearly seems to have boosted the growth of small businesses. The conclusions of our loan pilot show that there is an area on the market that market-based financing does not easily reach. Finland cannot afford to miss this growth potential, and that is why we want to ensure the growth of micro-enterprises and the financing of start-ups. We are complementing the financial market in this regard. The ongoing debate on the availability of financing for companies has been a welcome indication that it is a good idea to reflect on the operating mechanisms of the financial markets from time to time," says Juha Ketola, Executive Vice President for SME financing at Finnvera. 

According to a survey conducted by Finnvera, around 40 per cent of the companies that received Finnvera’s loan for micro-enterprises had some planned project transferred or implementation had become more difficult in the absence of financing during the past 12 months. In 10% of the companies, the project had been totally cancelled. For companies seeking growth and internationalisation, the lack of financing made it even more difficult to implement growth measures. 

Loan applications are carefully evaluated, applying for funding first from a commercial financier as a prerequisite

The loan application process, which opens in February, requires that the company has applied for funding from a bank or other commercial financier but has not received it and that the company has a comprehensive plan for profitable business. The persons in charge of the company cannot have payment defaults. The maximum amount of the loan will continue to be EUR 50,000. Micro-enterprises that received a loan from Finnvera in the previous loan pilot, cannot apply for a loan a second time. 

“We carefully evaluate loan applications, and especially for start-ups, we need a business plan and calculations. If a company has a plan for profitable business and growth that would not be realised without financing, a micro-enterprise loan from Finnvera may be an option. We see that Finland's economy is turning to growth and the accelerating economic cycle will hopefully ease the availability of financing during next year. We believe that the six-month application period is a sufficient bridge to complement the financial markets," Ketola says. 

Total turnover of micro-enterprises is a hundred billion a year, but the figure could be even higher if growth receives financing 

Overall, in the SME sector, access to finance is at a moderate level, except for the smallest and youngest companies. In the SME Barometer of Finnvera, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in the autumn of 2025, well over half of the self-employed who needed funding and more than 40 per cent of other microenterprises had difficulty obtaining loans from a bank. Access to funding has tightened since 2021. According to Finnvera's Chief Economist Mauri Kotamäki, this was also reflected in Finnvera's loan pilot, which ended in March 2025, for the smallest, youngest and internationalising companies. One of the objectives of the pilot was to identify challenges in access to finance for micro-enterprises. 

“Micro-enterprises in total already generate EUR 100 billion turnover a year, but the figure could be clearly higher if the growth receives the necessary financing. The short-term employment and turnover impact achieved by the EUR 20 million Finnvera granted in six months is clearly positive. It is also significant that we were able to provide financing to companies, some of which would not have applied or received it elsewhere. From the point of view of Finland's economic growth, it is truly regrettable if the good growth measures of small companies are not implemented," Kotamäki says. 

Additional information: 

Juha Ketola, Business Director, SMEs and midcap companies, Finnvera tel. +358 29 460 2658 

Mauri Kotamäki, Chief Economist, Finnvera, tel. +358 29 460 2878 

Attachments (in Finnish): 

Attachments in Finnish: Evaluation of Finnvera's micro-business loan pilot (PDF)

Finnvera's micro-enterprise loan statistics attachment (excel)