Pandemic and billions of euros public money
Finnvera published a bulletin informing companies suffering from the covid crisis of a EUR 12 billion support package. The ELY centers and Business Finland also opened up new forms of financial support.
There were options. However, the most common question from companies was: Okay, sounds great. But how on earth can I get this money? Although there were options and the money was granted in good portions, it was almost impossible for an ordinary company to get this support. The requirements, conditions and criteria were obscured. Some companies received huge sums – even seemingly unjustifiably. Some, on the other hand, were left without, even if they needed just as much to secure the future of their business.
600+ contact requests in 2 months
Our team was not immune to a pandemic. Our customers stopped marketing and the projects were put on ice, meaning we had a lot of room for maneuver. We decided to transfer our expertise to financial consulting, leveraging our expertise in working with financial institutions. We also aggressively contacted our network to help as many companies as possible to survive the corona crisis.
We quickly established the web site Kriisirahoitus.fi.
And it grew really fast:
600+
Contacts, on average 10/day
100+
Applications sent to various funding providers
16
Team members serving our customers
The huge popularity of the service was largely due to our highly effective marketing campaign. Our page had thousands of visitors every week. This popularity also put pressure on us to grow our team: we recruited more than 10 new professionals in two different fields in two months.
“Our company offers quality restaurant services in Helsinki. Our chain restaurants are Storyville, Hampton Bay and Rymy-Eetu. We had to temporarily close all our restaurants due to the corona crisis. Through Kriisirahoitus.fi, we were able to arrange both loan and grant financing to survive over the worst period”
Sustainable innovation
How can an indoor sports center remain relevant when its doors are not allowed to be kept open? Once development funding is available, where could it be put when all the services offered are physical? Options for digitalizing a sports center are limited; mobile sports applications are a saturated market. We met Buugi Oy, a large sports center in Jyväskylä. All their services were closed. We obtained financing for them from Business Finland. However, this funding cannot be used for running costs, so the development project had to start. Together, we came up with two digital projects that will keep Buugi in the minds of customers even when it is out of place.
“Buugi Oy is one of the largest private sports centers in Central Finland and is located in Jyväskylä. Our center has, among other things, nine badminton courts, three floorball courts and two hockey pitches, group exercise and fitness and cycling halls, and a restaurant. In addition, there are two tennis and paddle courts outside, the Corona Epidemic had a huge impact on our business as we had to close a large portion of our operations. Kriisirahoitus.fi helped us get the funding we needed, quickly and professionally”
Gamifying exercisizing
We consulted and raised funding for Buugi for two great projects. The purpose of these projects was not only to benefit Buugi, but also to benefit the people. These projects were developed:
Mobile application. A treasure hunt game for kids. The user should use the clues to find common landmarks in their immediate area. Active children will be rewarded with Buug discounts or gifts.
Digital sports challenges. Buugi publishes a variety of exercise challenges that users can participate in from their homes. The competition takes place online. With this, we encourage healthy activities and at the same time market Buug’s services.