Invest in Finland is the government investment promotion agency for Finland. Finland boasts a vibrant, multilingual, tech-driven workforce and dynamic start-up culture. With access to first-class tech talent, Invest in Finland’s primary focus was to encourage FDI from North America. Time differences of up to nine hours posed an in-house prospecting challenge. As a result, the team required on-the-ground support to drive inbound investment opportunities.

The ROI outreach team responsible for generating leads for Invest in Finland developed a list of qualifying questions in order to grade and identify leads that fit Finland’s targeting criteria. When the pipeline companies had matured, ROI scheduled face-to-face meetings with Invest in Finland representatives during marketing missions to North America.

Throughout the last nine years, ROI and Invest in Finland have built a winning relationship. During this period, ROI identified over 425 qualified leads for Invest in Finland, scheduled meetings with decision makers at more than 350 firms and supported in excess of 30 client sales missions to North America.

Press release from IBM:

IBM had a unique list of requirements when it came to sourcing a center of excellence where it would apply its Watson cognitive computing to healthcare. ROI’s research team identified the similarities between Finland’s exceptional healthcare system and IBM’s specifications. The ROI team engaged with leaders at IBM, organized introductions with the Invest in Finland team and supported the partnership which was announced mid-September 2016. The Watson Health Center of Excellence opened in 2017 in Helsinki, employing more than 150 people.

Press release from Contrast Equinix:

With its headquarters in Redwood City, California, Equinix, Inc. is a global specialist in Internet connection and data centers. The ROI business intelligence team identified signals that the company was looking for a high-speed connectivity hub that connected East to West Europe. On behalf of Invest in Finland, the ROI outreach team targeted Equinix, Inc., engaged with leadership and proposed Finland as a location for its planned data center. In November 2018 the announcement of a $20 million International Business Exchange data center in Helsinki, known as HE7, arrived with plans for a further six data centres in Finland by the time HE7 is completed.

Press release from Intel and University of Oulu:

The ROI team targeted Intel, on behalf of Invest in Finland, during their Intel Labs Europe expansion phase. After an initial period of gauging the company’s interest in Finland as a location, Intel responded positively. Through the support of the ROI outreach team, Intel set about establishing a lab at the University of Oulu’s Center of Internet Excellence. The lab is a joint venture between Intel and Nokia and will employ more than 20 R&D professionals.