Tekes to increase its investment in services to create global service companies

Published: 29.5.2009

The following international success stories are to be found among Finnish companies investing in the development of the service business.

The service business sector has changed so rapidly that the Tekes Serve programme, which started in 2006 and focuses on developing services, has been extended mid-programme until 2013. Likewise, the programme’s budget has been increased and it has adopted a new policy on its content: the programme will in future focus on developing high value added services, especially in the business value chain, industry and expert services for business.

“An enormous change in attitude has taken place over a few years, as companies in various sectors have understood the importance of developing a service business. Up until now, we have helped companies in commercialising and conceptualising services, and many Finnish companies now have a high level of skills in service innovation. The next step is to speed up the growth and internationalisation of pioneering companies,” says the programme’s manager Minna Suutari.

Pioneering companies are created in the business-to-business service sector

The aim of the Tekes Serve programme is to contribute to the transformation of not only individual companies but also industry more broadly through services and the growth of the service sectors in Finland. The creation of spearhead companies usually speeds up the development of the entire sector. The task of Tekes is to identify new growth areas in the service business and to promote their development in Finland.

The main reason for channelling the Serve programme’s public funding into pioneering companies that already possess expertise in their sector is so that the entire Finnish economy will benefit.

“In a global and competitive market, the technological cycle is so fast that a company that is currently leading the development may rapidly lose its competitive advantage if it does not invest in the systematic development of services,” says Suutari.

“It’s good that the economic importance of the service business is understood and that the importance of services in innovating business life and in boosting economic growth in Finland has become a subject of public debate as well. All kinds of services are important, irrespective of whether they are aimed at consumers or companies. However, we believe that for Finnish companies, the greatest potential for growth on the global market is in business-to-business activities. Differentiation on the consumer market is more difficult,” says Suutari.

How, then, can a pioneering company in the service business be identified? “Internationally successful innovations are often developed for completely new interfaces between sectors. Pioneering concepts are based on the use of knowledge and skills in a new way. These concepts combine traditional substantive knowledge on the company’s own sector, information acquired through machinery, equipment and systems, which is used only to a limited extent, and an understanding of the customer company’s business in an open way,” explains Suutari.

For more information, please contact:
Minna Suutari, Manager of the Tekes Serve programme
tel. +358 50 557 7830, e-mail minna.suutari(at)tekes.fi


The Tekes Serve – Pioneers of Service Business programme promotes the development of customer-oriented service innovations based on knowledge and know-how. The programme will run from 2006–2013 and its total budget is EUR 224 million, of which Tekes will contribute around one half. To date, 156 business research and development projects and 42 public research projects have been funded by the programme. The share of funding granted by Tekes has been EUR 46 million. More information on the programme and the projects funded is available at: www.tekes.fi/serve.