Finland is ranked in the top 10 of best countries for startups in Europe  

Finland is ranked Europe’s 9^th best country for startups. NimbleFins’s ranking compares the economic health, cost of doing business, business environment and labour force quality of each country.

Finland is one of the best European countries for startups, according to NimbleFins’s recent ranking. NimbleFins, a research and data-driven personal finance site, ranks Finland 9^th overall when looking at the political environment, education, infrastructure, and business sophistication of 50 European countries. Germany took first place in the ranking, followed by the UK and Ireland.

Finnish labour force quality and business climate are among the best in Europe 

The availability of educated, skilled labour is highly important for any company when deciding where to locate – and startups are no exceptions. Also, it is a clear red flag if the process of starting a new business and/ or getting funding are wrapped up in red tape. Luckily for startups and other companies as well, Finland has ample availability of highly qualified people and one of the most straightforward paths towards setting up a business in Europe.

Finland ranks in the top 5 in both the categories of Labour Force Quality (3^rd) and Business Climate (5^th). According to the survey, 34.4% of the Finnish population have a tertiary education degree (the 5^th most in Europe) and 74% have at least secondary education degree (6^th). In addition, Finland is rated the 3^rd best in Europe when looking at how easy it is for people to learn new, professional skills.

In the business climate category, countries are rated according factors such as the availability of funding, trust in the justice system, and how easy it is to start a business. Finland is ranked best in Europe in the VC Access category and 6^th in starting a new company.

Espoo Innovation Garden – a leading startup ecosystem in Finland

While Finland is among the best countries in Europe for startups to land, Espoo is certainly one of the best Finnish cities to set up shop.

For one thing, Espoo Innovation Garden – Espoo's innovation network – is the biggest innovation hub in Northern Europe. Espoo Innovation Garden is an ecosystem of startups, scaleups, growth companies and large international corporates, R&D centres and Aalto University. When looking at the labour force quality and business environment in Espoo Innovation Garden in more detail, the ecosystem shows why startups should be there:

• Over 50% of Espoo residents of over 25 years old hold a university degree
• Aalto University was selected in the global top 10 of young universities
• About half of the Finnish Stock Exchange value is located in Espoo
• 18,000 students, 40 R&D organisations and 100 different nationalities are working in the ecosystem
• Espoo Innovation Garden won the international Intelligent Community Awards 2018
• Startup Sauna, an incubator for the whole startup ecosystem in Finland, and Slush, the largest startup match making event in Europe run by students, both emerged from Espoo Innovation Garden

NimbleFins Top 10 Countries in Europe for Startups:

1. Germany
2. The UK 
3. Ireland
4. Switzerland
5. Estonia
6. Czech Republic 
7. Sweden
8. Norway
9. Finland
10. Netherlands

Source: NimbleFins