Tekes to fund Finnish innovation in India

A Finnish firm is exploring ways to support compatriot firms to participate in the Indian market by funding their innovative initiatives.
Tekes is in discussions for funding Finnish companies' innovative approaches for the Indian market in collaboration with Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA) of India's Science and Technology Ministry.
"Tekes is also in discussions with Finnish companies, GITA and authorities to collaborate with Indian universities on market research on new business opportunities," said its director Kari Hiltunen has said.
The Tekes-GITA collaboration is for joint projects for developing products and solutions and will be launched in the coming months.

"These initiatives are to develop products, solutions and even support our companies adapting to the Indian market," he said, adding that "adapting to a new market condition is also considered as an innovation".
Tekes will finance up to 70 per cent of Finnish companies' funding cost for commissioning market studies, and, or to acquire market research work from the Indian universities.

These market insights will help the Finnish companies establish in India.
Likewise, GITA is also expected to finance cost of Indian companies in the collaboration.
Hiltunen also sees an increasing role for his country's small but efficient companies in corporate India.

"Our companies are advanced technology providers and are in a position to provide solutions covering healthcare, well-being, environment, and help manage corporate social responsibility issues for major Indian companies.
"We can bring into India hi-tech solution providers and open data companies as we view India as our strategic market," said Hiltunen, pointing out that Finland has 140 years of innovation history.
Tekes also has plans for India's Smart Cities initiative.
"There are opportunities for Finnish companies to offer platforms for launching e-health, e-learning, e-traffic solutions, clean-tech solutions and managing environment as well as pollution controls in the Smart Cities initiative," said Hiltunen who was in Singapore recently.