Helsinki is a dynamic hub for international business at the geographical and cultural crossroads between East and West. Finland has a long history of doing business in the Baltic States and Russia. Helsinki is also quickly becoming an important business hub between Europe and Asia due to fast and convenient flights and Helsinki’s award-winning airport.
Strategic location between East and West
The capital of Finland, Helsinki, is in the heart of the Baltic Sea Region, a market of over 100 million inhabitants and with GDP growth that is above the EU average. Its strategic location makes it an easily accessible hub for businesses and a perfect place to locate regional headquarters – especially if access to Russia and the Baltic states is important. Helsinki has excellent air and ferry connections to Tallinn and other points south as well as air, sea, road and high-speed rail connections to the largest city in the region, St. Petersburg. Moreover, Helsinki international airport offers some of the fastest and most convenient routes between Asia and Europe further making Helsinki one of the region’s most important business hubs.
Highly educated professionals
More than a one third of Helsinki inhabitants have higher education qualification. The Finnish school system provides world-leading universal education, as confirmed by PISA studies over and over again. In general, the workforce in Finland has very good ICT and language skills and is known for its high ethics and productivity.
Finland’s world renowned, $12 billion annual innovation system owes its success to the researchers and other professionals working in Finland. R&D-intensive companies from around the world are taking advantage of Helsinki’s innovation ecosystem and the international community is well-established with a strong presence in the city.
Effective infrastructure
Helsinki is built to support business through an effective infrastructure that is transparent and provides access to relevant networks.
Finnish infrastructure excels in terms of physical transportation as well as telecommunications. Technology infrastructure is one of the best in Europe, and almost the entire population has access to fibre optic networks. Office space is increasing and is much more affordable than in many locations in Western Europe. There are several business districts in Helsinki. Utilities are competitively priced and function well, as does society itself.
Finland’s public sector provides quality healthcare, education, transportation, housing as well as cultural services. Finland is famous for its transparency, straightforwardness and low levels of bureaucracy. The international community is well-established with a strong presence in the city. Finland is the only Nordic country in the European Union using euro as its currency.
A compact, green and healthy city
Greater Helsinki is not just a great place for business, but also a wonderful region for working, playing, studying and living. It is clean, stable and secure, with a very high standard of living and welfare. In fact, according to the World Happiness Report, Finns are the second most happiest people in the world.
Helsinki offers a very high standard of living in all aspects. Life expectancy is very high at 83 years for women and 76.3 years for men. Greater Helsinki is home to 1.3 million people. Thanks to its compact size, structure and status, services are plentiful and easily accessible.
Helsinki is a green city with plenty of natural public spaces, parks, playgrounds and other recreational spaces. The Finnish affinity for nature and sustainability also manifests itself through an effective public transportation system, pro-recycling mentality and use of renewable energy sources.
