Forging business life connections in Kanta-Häme and northern Spain: RUN-EU visit boosted international opportunities
What does the Kanta-Häme region have in common with the business life of the northern Spain? And how could companies in our regions benefit from the networks of the RUN European University (RUN-EU)? Our experts, together with Linna Business Development LTD and our Spanish partners, delved into these matters.
The visit to the RUN-EU partner institution, the University of Burgos (UBU), resulted in ideas such as a joint forum to accelerate internationalisation. During the networking trip, visits were made to the regional companies and business development organisations in the city of Burgos and the Castile and León region.
Similarities in northern Spain’s business life to Kanta-Häme
Somewhat unexpectedly, it was revealed during the visit that the Castile and León autonomous community faces similar business challenges as Kanta-Häme. Particularly, issues with retaining international and skilled labour and a general population decline trouble both regions, causing difficulties for companies.
“It was surprising to hear that small companies in the large and industrial Castile and León are hesitant and shy about internationalisation. There are many challenges ahead: a foreign language, culture, practices, and regulations. However, it is easier to learn about internationalisation together with companies from other regions. In cooperation with other Europeans, internationalisation skills develop almost automatically”, commented Anu-Maria Laitinen, senior lecturer and project manager of the Häme Smart Growth project at HAMK.
Other similarities in the business context were found, such as the fact that most of the region’s companies are small and medium-sized entreprises. Synergy was also found in important business sectors of both regions, such as the metal, agricultural and food, machinery, and electrical industries.
In cooperation with other Europeans, internationalisation skills develop almost automatically.
Anu-Maaria Laitinen, HAMK
“Northern Spain is still a relatively underutilised market for companies in Kanta-Häme. It was interesting to notice how many similarities and opportunities for cooperation we have with the Castile and León region. The region supports the internationalisation of companies in a very versatile and concrete way. We heard about new tools utilising AI, which we were keen to benchmark. The diverse business structure of the area and the beauty of the city of Burgos, as well as the utilisation of its historical heritage for tourism, made a great impression on us!” summarised Anastasia Kanervisto, project manager at Linna Business Development Ltd.
Company visit to a local, rapidly internationalising waffle factory
The trip included a visit to La Flor Burgalesa (FLORBÚ), a local family business with a long tradition of producing and selling waffles and biscuits in Spain. The company began international exports only eight years ago but has already spread to 50 different countries worldwide.
The company’s export strategy relies heavily on international sales agents and bold experimentation in different markets. This approach has clearly worked, as the company plans to expand significantly in the coming years and double its production. Finnish companies are often too cautious when starting their path to international markets and could learn from FLORBÚ’s bold approach.
“During the visit, we heard how a traditional family business has boldly and quickly started to build a large, global export company through experimentation. Using agents in internationalisation is, of course, a well-known distribution channel for Finnish companies as well; it allows for rapid internationalisation but requires finding active and committed sales agents and smart agreements. FLORBÚ seems to excel in this! The visit also highlighted the driving force of the family business, i.e. the values emphasised in all activities at FLORBÚ. These values are: a well-being staff and high quality,” Anastasia praised.
First concrete cooperation idea
During the visits, the idea of a joint discussion forum between entrepreneurs from Castile and León and Kanta-Häme emerged, which RUN-EU partners UBU and HAMK will help facilitate. The forum aims to share experiences and knowledge, expand international networks, and create possible cooperation and business opportunities on both sides.
In the future, small businesses from different countries can share their internationalisation challenges and solutions in an English-language, European small group. The plan will be developed further at the beginning of the year, and the first test run will hopefully be implemented shortly thereafter.
We quickly proceeded to agree on concrete steps for cooperation. Next we will map out the interest of our companies in cooperation and the Northern Spain market.
Anastasia Kanervisto, Linna Business Development Ltd
“We set out on the trip to map out the starting points for building concrete cooperation and opening doors for companies in our region. In the meetings, we quickly proceeded to agree on concrete steps for cooperation, so next we will map out the interest of our companies in cooperation and the Northern Spain market”, Anastasia explains, satisfied with the beginning of the cooperation.
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Project: Häme Smart Growth
The Häme Smart Growth is a joint development project between HAMK and Linna Business Development Ltd, which promotes the internationalisation of companies in the Kanta-Häme and Pirkanmaa regions.
The project is co-funded by the European Union.
RUN European University
We are part of RUN European University, which brings together eight European higher education institutions from seven countries committed to a common vision.
