Finnish export builder
Viexpo CEO Marja-Riitta Vest has just arrived from Frankfurt and is about to head to the municipality of Vöyri. For her, travelling abroad with Finnish companies is as familiar as visiting companies in Viexpo’s geographic domicile. About half of Viexpo´s customers are located in Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia, while the other half is spread all over the Finland.
“In the Ostrobothnian provinces, there are many small and medium-sized companies with all of the prerequisites to do well in global markets. Viexpo’s mission is to help those companies get started in their internationalisation and to support them afterwards as well. Viexpo provides joint export projects and enterprise-specific services, and operates both locally and nationally. We connect entrepreneurs anywhere in Finland with customers around the world,” explains Vest.
The Ostrobothnia region has always been very export-oriented and the area shines in the export statistics. Viexpo’s activities provide strong support for internationalisation for the whole region.
“We act on behalf of the entire area of Ostrobothnia, and for nearly 50 years we have been involved in making this area the number one region for export in Finland,” Vest says.
The Vaasa area’s energy cluster is already well known around the world, but Viexpo’s operating area is also home to top-level expertise in many other industries. For example, the wood and construction industries have a strong presence here as well as boat building, agriculture, forestry, bio economy and food. Many companies in this region are highly-specialised and operate globally in niche markets.
“Through our network, we are able to find suitable partners and targeted business contacts regardless of the industry,” says Vest.
Due to its location and bilingual operations, Viexpo has natural and close relations with Sweden and other Nordic countries. Viexpo wants to keep utilising this special expertise and experience that has accumulated over several years.
“Our capacities allow us to act as a link to the Scandinavian markets, no matter where in Finland a company is located,” Vest says.
Viexpo is part of a network called “Team Finland”, which includes governmental organisations, ministries, embassies and chambers of commerce, all working together for the success of Finnish companies abroad.
