Photo: Geran de Klerk

Doing Business in South East Europe – is a series of webinars in January –May 2022 organized jointly by the Embassies of Finland in South East Europe, the Enterprise Europe Network, the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, the Finland-Central Eastern European Countries Business Association and Business Finland. The purpose is to bring South East Europe and the business opportunities the region offers closer to Finnish companies.

The webinar series are covering following countries; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. In the region, the annual trade with Finland is more than EUR 1 billion and Finnish companies employ about 10 000 people.

South East Europe has steadily growing markets, next to the other European markets where Finnish companies already have more business. During the year 2021, trade and investments were on good track. The expected economic growth for year 2022 is more than 4%. The region has competitive cost structure. Close proximity makes logistics reliable and cost efficient. In the coming years, EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility funding for given countries will be about EUR 70 billion and EU’s funding to Western Balkans countries in question will be about EUR 30 billion. The annual trade with Finland in the region is more than EUR 1 billion and Finnish companies employ about 10 000 people.

Webinars during the spring 2022 are planned to take place on following dates and to cover following topics. Information on possible changes will be send well in advance. 

  • Tuesday January 25th -Cleantech and Circular Economy
  • Wednesday February 16th -EUR 70 billion of EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility Funding
  • Wednesday 23rd March -ICT / Digitalization Business Cases and Opportunities
  • Wednesday 20th April -EUR 30 billion of EU’s funding to Western Balkans
  • Thursday 19th May -Investments/Manufacturing/Subcontracting Business Cases and Opportunities

For more information about the webinars, as well as opportunities and activities in the countries, please contact:

  • Janne Sykkö, Embassy of Finland in Belgrade, South East Europe Regional, janne.sykko(a)formin.fi
  • Hanna Blomqvist, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, hanna.blomqvist(a)helsinki.chamber.fi
  • Anne Hatanpää, Finland Chamber of Commerce Finland-Central Eastern European Countries Business Association, anne.hatanpaa(a)chamber.fi
  • Business Finland, www.businessfinland.fi
  • Kirsi Puronpää, Embassy of Finland in Sofia (Bulgaria), kirsi.puronpaa(a)formin.fi
  • Laura Stojic, Embassy of Finland in Zagreb (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), laura.stojic(a)formin.fi
  • Embassy of Finland in Athens (Greece, Albania), sanomat.ATE (a)formin.fi 
  • Jehona Ademaj, Embassy of Finland in Pristina (Kosovo), jehona.ademajsejdiu(a)formin.fi
  • Terhi Paikkala, Embassy of Finland in Bucharest (Romania), terhi.paikkala(a)formin.fi
  • Igor Madzarevic, Embassy of Finland in Belgrade (Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia), igor.madzarevic(a)formin.fi