Helsinki Employment Services
Asiakasnäkymä
Kunnat
Updated 10.04.2026
Start-up grant
The start-up grant is a discretionary grant awarded to entrepreneurs who are starting out. The purpose is to support the entrepreneur’s income in the initial phase of their full-time business activities, when the income from the business is limited.
Service organiser
Kunnat
Language
Finnish
Swedish
English
Charges
The service is free of charge
Implementation
Financial support
The start-up grant is not intended for starting a business; rather, it is personal financial support for the entrepreneur.
- For the first six months following the start of full-time business activities.
- The amount corresponds to the basic unemployment allowance paid by Kela, meaning approximately €740 a month.
- The amount of the start-up grant is reduced by the amount of any income that is not related to the business activities, such as financial aid for students, salary and wages, and capital income. However, the start-up grant is not reduced by privileged income within the meaning of the Unemployment Security Act, chapter 4, section 7, such as social assistance, general housing allowance and child benefits.
- Paid retroactively on a monthly basis, for up to five business days per week.
- An extension may be granted for the start-up grant so that the combined duration of both start-up grant periods does not exceed 12 months.
- A start-up grant is taxable income.
You may not start full-time business activities until you have submitted the start-up grant application
to the employment authority.
You do not have to register as a jobseeker in order to receive a start-up grant.
You are eligible for a start-up grant if you meet the following conditions:
- You are unemployed or transitioning from e.g. a paid job, housework, studies or being a part-time
entrepreneur to being a full-time entrepreneur. - You are sufficiently well equipped for the industry in question and for entrepreneurship in terms of your education, work experience and competence.
- The necessary conditions exist for establishing the business, making it profitable and launching business activities. For example, you have prepared the funding, business premises and required permits.
- The future business activities are continuous and constitute a full-time job.
- The business will operate in and from Finland.
- You have submitted a start-up grant application before becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
All types of companies and industries are possible, taking competition into account.
If you are still considering whether to become an entrepreneur, also see the following section of the Service Manual: Entrepreneurship training as labour market training.
Who is the service for?
Municipality of residence
Municipality of residence does not matter
Age
All people of working age
Situation
Entrepreneur or interested in becoming one
Apply for a start-up grant primarily via Job Market Finland’s E-services for personal customers: E-services – Personal customers – Job Market Finlandexternal link, opens in a new tab. Log in with strong identification. Once you have logged in, you can fill in the online start-up grant application form. Fill in the form carefully.
Upload the necessary appendices before submitting your application:
- business plan, sales projection, investment calculation and profitability calculation
- certificate of paid taxes / certificate of tax debts (vero.fi), available for download in MyTax
- evidence of having arranged the funding required for the business activities
- up-to-date CV.
- Depending on your business idea and situation, you can also append copies of any: collaboration agreements (a preliminary agreement is enough)
- lease agreement for business premises (a preliminary agreement is enough)
- necessary permits and notifications related to starting your business activities
- debt repayment plan if you have private payment default entries or tax debt.
For the processing of your application, you may also be asked to provide other additional information, depending on your business idea and situation. The employment authority will contact you once it is your application’s turn to be processed. Until then, you can add information to
your application at your own initiative via the E-services for personal customers (Job Market Finlandexternal link, opens in a new tab).
Once your application has been processed, you will be informed of the decision electronically.
If you have any questions regarding applying for a start-up grant online or general questions about the start-up grant, you can consult the Enterprise Finland Advisory Service, tel. +358 295 020 500, from Monday to Friday between 9.00 and 15.00. Further information on support and guidance (suomi.fi)
If you do not have online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or EU electronic identification (eIDAS), which is required for using the E-services, you can use the printable application form and deliver it to your local employment authority. Please only use the printable application form if you are unable to use the E-services online. You can find a link to the form at the bottom of this page.
Submit your start-up grant application before starting full-time business activities.
We recommend that you submit your application approximately four weeks before the planned start date of the full-time business activities. You should do so particularly if you need to know whether you will be granted a start-up grant or not before starting your business. If you wish, you can start your full-time business activities after submitting the start-up grant application. If you are a jobseeker client of employment services, remember to inform your assigned specialist that you are starting a business.
Before submitting your application, you should always read through the instructions for applying for a start-up grant that are applied in your area. The employment area will process your application and decide whether to award you a start-up grant. The employment area also provides advice if you have questions about the start-up grant.
Espoo-Kauniainen: The employment area requires a meeting with a business advisor of Business Espoo when applying for a start-up grant. You can find the business plan and calculation templates as well as appointment booking for free-of-charge business counselling here: https://tyollisyys.palvelumanuaali.fi/en/service/business-espoos-business-advisory-servicesexternal link, opens in a new tab
Hanko-Ingå-Raseborg: The employment area requires the person to review their application and the necessary appendices with a business advisor of the City of Raseborg, City of Hanko or municipality of Ingå before submitting the application: https://hanko.fi/elinvoima-ja-tyollisyys/elinvoimapalvelut/yritysneuvonta/external link, opens in a new tab
Benefits of participating in the service
The start-up grant safeguards a new entrepreneur’s income during the start-up and consolidation phase.
Conditions for participating in the service
The requirements for receiving the grant include things such as the following.
- The future business activities are continuous and constitute a full-time job.
- You are sufficiently well equipped for the industry in question and for entrepreneurship: education, work experience, competence.
- The necessary conditions exist for establishing the business, making it profitable and launching business activities. E.g. a business plan, funding, a preliminary
lease agreement and permits, if necessary. - The grant is necessary for your subsistence.
- The business must operate in and from Finland.
- From part-time to full-time: you must apply for a start-up grant before expanding your business activities from part-time to full-time.
You may start full-time business activities once you have submitted the application for a start-up grant to the employment authority.
Barriers to receiving a start-up grant include things such as the following.
- Tax debt or payment default entries; we review the applicant’s credit information.
- The business activities immediately yield a reasonable income, such as when a new entrepreneur takes over an established business and clientele.
Other income during the start-up grant period, such as a salary, wages, financial aid for students, daily allowance for parents or pensions, reduce the amount of the start-up grant to be paid.
How can I participate in the service?
A start-up grant is awarded for a six-month period from the date on which you start business activities as a full-time entrepreneur or expand a part-time business into a full-time business. An extension may be granted for the start-up grant so that the total duration of both periods does not exceed 12 months. The start-up grant amount is equal to the amount of basic unemployment allowance: €37.21/day, i.e. about €740/month. The start-up grant is paid for five days per calendar week.
Application for payment of the start-up grant
- Apply for payment of the start-up grant retroactively, one month at a time, with a separate application.
- Submit the payment application at the latest within two months of
the end of the payment period. - If you do not apply for payment by the due date, the payment application will expire and the grant will not be paid
for the payment period in question. - Log in and fill in the payment application in the E-services for personal customers (Job Market Finlandexternal link, opens in a new tab).
If you cannot use the E-services, deliver the payment application form and its appendices to your local employment authority. You can find a link to the form at the bottom of this page.
Required appendices to the first payment application:
- copy of the notification filed with the Finnish Trade Register if your company is required to file one
- copy of the partnership agreement of the general or limited partnership, or the memorandum of association
and articles of association of the limited liability company - certificate of registration in the Prepayment Register if the company is not obligated to file a notification with the Finnish Trade Register
- revised tax card for the benefit (note! not for salary and wages). Without a revised tax card,
25 per cent of the start-up grant will be withheld.
Application for a start-up grant extension
You can apply for an extension to the start-up grant if you still need support after the end of the first decision. An extension may be granted for the start-up grant so that the combined duration of both start-up grant periods does not exceed 12 months.
The application to extend the start-up grant must be submitted to the employment authority during the current start-up grant period. It is recommended that the extension application be submitted before the current start-up grant period ends.
The appendices required for an extension application include: an up-to-date income statement and balance sheet (or information corresponding to a balance sheet) for five months of the start-up grant period.
The application to extend the start-up grant also asks for an account of how the business activities have developed and the need for the start-up grant. Even if the appendices are not yet finished during the current start-up grant period, it is still important to submit the extension application before the end of the period.
If necessary, you can add appendices after submitting the application via the E-services for personal customers (Job Market Finlandexternal link, opens in a new tab).
The decision on whether to extend a start-up grant is based on an assessment of the development of the business activities and the need for the start-up grant, among other things.
How is the service organised?
Contact information
Espoo Employment Services
Huom! Espoon kaupungin edellytys starttirahan hakemisessa on tapaaminen Business Espoon yritysneuvojan kanssa. Löydät liiketoimintasuunnitelman ja laskelmien mallipohjat sekä ajanvarauksen maksuttomaan yritysneuvontaan täältä: https://tyollisyys.palvelumanuaali.fi/palvelu/business-espoon-yritysneuvonta
Vantaa Employment Services
Kerava and Sipoo Employment Services
Raseborg employment area
Links and attachments
Service category
Financial support promoting employment
Setting up a business