Ukrainian entrepreneurs boost Saarijärvi business scene

One in ten new businesses in Saarijärvi, Central Finland, is now founded by Ukrainians, reports Yle. The influx has revitalised the town centre with new service ventures.

Nataliia Yanchenko, a Ukrainian with 25 years of experience in the beauty industry, opened her own salon in Saarijärvi earlier this year. She arrived in 2022, worked at a tree nursery to save capital, and now runs her business in a former bank branch.

Harri Uusisalo, business advisor for the town, said around 100 new companies have launched in the area over the past two years, with Ukrainians accounting for about a dozen. The town has expanded its advisory services, including hiring a Russian-speaking job coach to assist with bureaucracy, translations, and job interviews.

Nationwide, Ukrainian entrepreneurs remain rare. A 2023 study by the Government Institute for Economic Research (VATT) found only 119 Ukrainians in Finland reported business income. Toni Ahvenainen of the Institute of Migration notes that while numbers may have risen since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, they remain low.

Taneli Minkkinen of the Central Finland Vitality Centre explained that most Ukrainians in Finland hold temporary protection status, which grants unrestricted work rights but does not require a separate residence permit for entrepreneurship. This means their business activity may not appear in official statistics.

Saarijärvi’s high unemployment rate, over 15%, has driven efforts to support entrepreneurship. The town’s 120 Ukrainian residents, including about 80 of working age, have also entered sectors like forestry, with some launching related businesses.

Yanchenko’s future, like that of many Ukrainians in Finland, depends on the extension of temporary protection. The EU’s current directive runs until March 2027, with a proposed extension to March 2028. Ahvenainen said permanent residency could encourage more Ukrainians to start businesses, as current rules make entrepreneurship less stable than salaried work for securing residence permits.