Finland among the best for social entrepreneurs

The Best place to be a social entrepreneur study is published triennially. Finland ascended to eighth from 24th place in 2016. Topping the 43-country chart were Canada, Australia and France.

The countries are ranked by 12 metrics in six areas, including government support, public understanding of social entrepreneurship, gaining momentum, access to investment, making a living and attracting skilled staff.

Finland ranked high in the latter two, placing first in enabling social entrepreneurs to make a living and second in how easy it is to attract staff with the required skills. The other highlights for the country were second place in equal pay for female leaders and third place in access to grant funding, where its score increased by 36 points from 2016.

“Helsinki is a dynamic hub for entrepreneurship, affording great opportunities for ventures that blend technological innovation with the Nordic commitment to environmental sustainability,” commented Myrto Chliova, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Aalto University. “The strong welfare state makes other types of social ventures somewhat less imperative.”

The study was conducted by consulting 664 experts in the listed nations with the aim of growing awareness of entrepreneurship that tackles social problems.

Although Finland improved its position in most categories, the country still has work to do in the areas of access to investment (19th) and momentum of social entrepreneurship (32nd).