Sole entrepreneurs can apply for a one-time payment of €2,000 at their municipality. The support is intended to help entrepreneurs with financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic to get their economy on a more solid ground. The seven owner municipalities of Keuke (Development Centre Ltd. Helsinki Region North) have agreed that sole entrepreneurs can apply for support via a common service that will be published on Keukes web page. Application period begins on April 15th, 2020. Any actual support is granted, and payments made, by the municipality that is enlisted as municipality for residence for the sole entrepreneur’s company.
This web page includes most important FAQs on the subject, complete with answers, as well as directions in how to apply. The information on this page is directed at sole entrepreneurs in Järvenpää, Karkkila, Kerava, Nurmijärvi, Pornainen, Sipoo and Tuusula. You will find a link to the application form at the bottom of this page on April 15th.
Applications will be accepted between April 15th and September 30th, 2020. The support is central government funding that municipalities make available to entrepreneurs. Consequently, it is possible that the application period is shorter if the funding runs out.
The support available to sole entrepreneurs is a one-time payment of €2,000 intended to cover costs arising from the entrepreneur's business activities incurred between March 16th and August 31st, 2020. These include, for example, the costs of premises and equipment purchased for business purposes, as well as accounting and office expenses. Any salaries taken out by the entrepreneur are not eligible costs. The support can nevertheless be used for any other costs.
To be able to use the electronic application, your company must have a municipality of residence in one of the following municipalities in the Uusimaa region. You can use The Business Information System register to check if this is the case.
We only accept support applications via the electronic system. It is not possible to apply for support by sending your application direct to one of the municipalities above. Your company’s municipality of residence will decide whether you get support and make the actual payment.
This support is intended for any entrepreneur that, regardless of the legal form of activity or source of financing, is
The entrepreneur is asked to confirm that the information given in the application form is true, complete and accurate. Some entrepreneurs take care of the company’s accounting themselves. In these cases, is not necessary for an accountant to verify the information submitted, but the entrepreneur must assure that it is accurate.
Electronic identification is necessary in order to apply.
Read through the application guide and fill in your application meticulously. If you are unsure about something, call first: Keukes application help service answers at 050 523 8897, Mondays to Fridays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Are there any terms and conditions for the support? How are they evaluated?
To be eligible for support, the entrepreneur is required to prove that their financial situation and turnover have deteriorated after March 16th, 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, and that they have the potential for profitable business.
Who is eligible for support?
A sole entrepreneur is per definition a full-time entrepreneur who is engaged in economic activity in Finland alone and has no employees on payroll. To be considered a full-time entrepreneur, the person must be insured under the self-employed persons’ pension insurance (YEL) or able to produce records of an annual entrepreneurial income or invoicing of at least €20,000.
Are there any restrictions as to the company form?
Support for sole entrepreneurs does not depend on the legal form of activity or source of financing. This means that any kind of company is eligible for support, provided that the company can be owned by a sole entrepreneur. In other words, private entrepreneurs, trade names, limited partnerships and limited companies can apply.
Even so-called light entrepreneurs, that is, people who employ themselves and act as entrepreneurs even though they do not have a company of their own, are eligible to apply. Even freelance entrepreneurs can apply if they are private entrepreneurs, have a trade name (persons carrying on a trade and business persons, respectively) or act as members in a partnership (general partnership or limited partnership), in a limited company or in a cooperative.
FAQ regarding the funding
Am I a sole entrepreneur if I lay off all my employees?
A sole entrepreneur is defined as an entrepreneur that is engaged in economic activity alone and has no employees on payroll. The applicant’s situation is evaluated at the time he or she applies for support. Entrepreneurs who employ not only themselves but also 1–5 other persons who they have laid off temporarily, are not classified as sole entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur who have laid off his or her employees permanently and is at the time of application the only one employed by the company, are classified as sole entrepreneurs.
What if my company has several owners, but I am the only employee with YEL-insurance?
Any full-time sole entrepreneurs regardless of the company’s source of financing are eligible for support. Company owners are not eligible for support for sole entrepreneurs, given that they are not themselves full-time sole entrepreneurs.
What happens if a sole entrepreneur has several companies?
The support for sole entrepreneurs is granted to the entrepreneur, not the company. If a sole entrepreneur has several companies in which he or she is the only employee, the support is allocated to the company in which the entrepreneur works full-time.
Is it possible for a sole entrepreneur to apply for both coronavirus-related support from the municipality and unemployment benefit at the same time? Do they affect each other?
An entrepreneur can apply for both the support for sole entrepreneurs and for unemployment benefit. They do not cancel each other out. This means that a person who gets one type of benefit can also get the other. Sums granted are neither affected.
Is it possible for at sole entrepreneur to receive support via several companies?
No. A sole entrepreneur can work full-time only in one company.
Is it possible for a sole entrepreneur who works part-time to receive support for sole entrepreneurs?
No. To be eligible for support, the entrepreneur is required to work full-time.
Are there any restrictions as to the company's branch? Are agricultural entrepreneurs also eligible?
Support for sole entrepreneurs can’t be granted to entrepreneurs who work in agriculture, fisheries or forestry, nor for processing of agricultural products.
Can a company get this support for sole entrepreneurs as well as funding from Business Finland or Ely Centres?
The different types of funding in the Corona-crisis are not meant to be used simultaneously. Funding cannot be granted for the same purpose twice. The support for sole entrepreneurs is granted by the municipalities, support for companies employing 1–5 people by the ELY Centres and support to bigger companies by Business Finland. If a sole entrepreneur has previously received support that is unrelated to the Corona-crisis, is that support taken into consideration i.e. in accordance with the de minimis-regulations.
Source for the Q&A: Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and https://tem.fi/koronavirus/kuntien-valtionavustus (only partially in English at this time)
For further information, call Keuke at 050 523 8897, Mon–Fri between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. or book an online meeting at this address.
If your company’s municipality of residence is outside Keukes area of operation, contact your own Development Centre or business consulting services in the municipality your company’s registered in.
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