Business Transfer Week highlights options for keeping businesses running

Finland’s national Business Transfer Week takes place on 2–8 November 2026, with its main event bringing participants together in Helsinki on 5 November. For Finland’s franchising community, a timely connection is a new project examining franchising as one way to keep businesses running, particularly in rural areas.

November’s week brings together events and discussion

Organised annually by Finland’s Business Transfer Forum (Omistajanvaihdosfoorumi), Business Transfer Week looks at changes in business ownership from both national and international perspectives. According to a news item published on 28 October by Suomen Yrittäjät, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, the programme offers up-to-date information, national and regional in-person events, and webinars.

The week’s main event is the Business Transfer Conference, held in Helsinki on Thursday 5 November. Its programme includes an address by Minister Sakari Puisto and a panel discussion with MPs on business transfers. Political debate therefore features alongside practical information on transferring business ownership.

The initiative extends beyond a single conference day. The national week brings together events across Finland and an online programme. For anyone considering stepping away from their business or becoming an entrepreneur, it offers several ways to explore the subject.

For the franchising community, the week’s main interest lies in the range of options identified for keeping businesses running. The discussion around business transfers is now broadening beyond conventional business sales and succession within the family.

Taking a broader view of finding a successor

According to a news item published by Y-lehti on 27 October, around 40,000 businesses in Finland are seeking a successor, but far fewer potential successors have been identified. This figure reflects the wider challenge of business succession, not the number of franchise businesses or demand for franchisees.

Against this backdrop, a new project has been launched: ‘The broader landscape of business transfers – alternative models for continuing business operations in rural areas’. Its starting point is that business transfers in Finland are often understood as business sales or succession from one generation to the next, even though other arrangements can also allow a business to continue.

The project focuses particularly on rural areas. It aims to make entrepreneurs and prospective successors aware of less familiar options, and to improve connections between outgoing owners and those looking to take over. In doing so, it seeks to help sustain the existing business base.

Business Transfer Week and the new project thus address the same topical question: how can we take a broader view of the ways businesses can continue? The week provides events for discussion, while the project gathers information over a longer period. They are two separate initiatives with a shared theme.

Franchising is one of the models under review

The options being examined by the project include part-ownership, phased ownership transfers, entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), franchising, and co-operative and employee-led solutions. Franchising is therefore not presented as the sole answer, but considered alongside other models for business continuity.

This distinction also matters to Finland’s franchising community. The project announcement concerns gathering information and raising awareness of the available options. It is not an announcement of a new franchise network, an individual business joining a network, or a completed ownership transfer.

Nevertheless, the inclusion of franchising makes it part of a broader examination of business continuity. The project is not aimed solely at existing entrepreneurs: practical resources are also being prepared for people considering taking over a business and for professionals working on business transfers.

Bringing different options together in one project creates an opportunity to explore several routes to business continuity. For an individual entrepreneur, the first step is to understand the options. The project’s aims should not be interpreted as a promise that any of the models listed will necessarily suit a particular business.

Information gathering continues until March 2028

The project is being delivered by the Federation of Finnish Enterprises (Suomen Yrittäjät ry) and the Finnish Enterprise Agencies (Suomen Uusyrityskeskukset ry), in partnership with several organisations involved in business transfers. Funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, it began on 1 August 2026 and runs until 31 March 2028.

The work draws on experience from Finland and abroad. This will be developed into practical resources intended to improve understanding of the options for keeping businesses running. The project involves collaboration with entrepreneurs, regional organisations and experts.

This timetable sets the project apart from November’s week of events: information gathering will continue after the week ends. Business Transfer Week offers a timely opportunity to engage with the discussion, but the project’s work extends throughout 2027 and into the first quarter of 2028.

Updates on the project will be available through the channels of the Business Transfer Forum, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises and the Finnish Enterprise Agencies. Following these channels will be particularly useful for anyone wishing to explore the experiences and practical resources compiled by the project as they become available.

Practical note: If you are considering the future of your business or becoming an entrepreneur, explore the Business Transfer Week programme. Consider franchising alongside the other options, and seek expert advice to assess your own circumstances.