New Study: 14,000 Jobs and €4 Billion in Revenue – How Angel Investments Shape Finland’s Economy

In 2005, Finland had just 94 active companies supported by angel investors. By 2023, that number had risen to 1,141.

Employment in these companies has grown almost continuously. By 2023, angel-backed startups employed approximately 14,000 people, representing nearly one-third of all jobs in Finland’s startup ecosystem.

“After the first investment rounds, companies often experience significant growth in revenue: employment increases, salaries rise, and the competence level inside the company develops,” explains FiBAN’s Ivan Helin.

“If Finland wants to be a country of growth companies, we must understand that growth often happens quietly and in a distributed way. Thousands of jobs and billions in revenue stem from the fact that someone dared to invest before the company had a track record,” adds Youssef Zad, Chief Economist at the Finnish Startup Community.

The study shows a clear link between investment rounds and revenue growth. In 2005, the combined revenue of angel-backed companies amounted to €263 million. whereas in 2023 combined revenue had grown to more than €4 billion.

The expansion of the ecosystem is broad-based: the revenue growth is driven primarily by the increasing number of companies, rather than just a small set of individual high performers.

“These figures show that Finland’s economic engine is not powered by a single success story, but by a broad base of small companies that grow and get their start thanks to those early believers—angel investors. Angel investments enable companies to hire and significantly expand their resources,” says Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, FiBAN CEO.

The workforce inside Finland’s growth companies is becoming more educated. In 2005, about one-third of employees held a university degree; by 2023, that share had risen to 64%.

“At the same time, the median age of employees hasn’t increased. This means that growth companies are increasingly hiring young, highly educated talent. Salaries in angel-backed companies are also noticeably higher than the national median as the median salary in angel-backed firms was around €49,000 in 2022. Part of this is explained by their strong focus on the technology sector,” notes Amir Hassan, Economist at the Finnish Startup Community.

Research and development spending has grown dramatically as well. The combined R&D investments of these growth companies have increased thirtyfold since 2005, reaching approximately €200 million in 2023.

“As innovation driven by research has accelerated, the number of highly educated employees—especially those with doctoral degrees—has multiplied in startups. More and more growth companies are building their business on a strong research foundation,” says FiBAN’s Ivan Helin.