Kitee, Rääkkylä and Tohmajärvi in agreements with Business Joensuu

Business Joensuu will set up a service point for each of these municipalities. Each municipality will be appointed a local business expert, who will be the most important contact person for local companies and people launching businesses as well as the management of the municipality. Through this contact person, entrepreneurs will be able to make use of all the expertise and networks of the entire Business Joensuu staff. The local business expert will be available on weekdays for pre-booked appointments. In addition, the Business helpline assists companies every weekday from 9 am to 5 pm.

– I am happy and excited to start working together with these new municipalities. Constructive cooperation with municipalities, entrepreneurs’ organisations and business owners will increase well-being throughout the region. The Business Joensuu team is ready to support entrepreneurs in Central Karelia with a wide range of high-quality services, says Tomi Haring, CEO of Business Joensuu.

The agreements will enter into force on 1 January 2023 and be valid until further notice.

Strong support for business development

The municipalities that have signed these service agreements expect this cooperation not only to support the development, growth and internationalisation of companies, but also to offer comprehensive training activities and events.

– We expect a lot from this cooperation and we believe that with Business Joensuu, companies in Tohmajärvi will receive the best possible support for their development, growth and internationalisation. Through our cooperation with Business Joensuu, we will also be well positioned to attract new companies and jobs into the area. We expect that through close cooperation, we will not only get strong support for companies but also events and training that will increase the vitality of the area. At Tohmajärvi, we are committed to doing our best to ensure that Tohmajärvi will be the business municipality of the year by 2025, says Mikko Löppönen, Municipal Manager of Tohmajärvi.

Kitee is also looking forward to cooperation in the development of the city’s industrial and functional areas.

– Kitee has a strong and versatile business base. We expect Business Joensuu to provide versatile and high-quality expert support for companies in different stages of development. The city’s strategy includes ambitious goals for the development of vitality, and we are prepared to do our best to develop the operating conditions of companies in cooperation with Business Joensuu. We will certainly do a lot of cooperation, for example, in developing the Puhos industrial zone and in building commercial operating conditions for the versatile AIMO area, without forgetting the further processing of food and natural products, Mayor Pekka Hirvonen outlines.

In Rääkkylä, Business Joensuu is expected to provide strong support for developing business activities and increasing the number of jobs.

– We want to promote the further processing of foodstuffs while safeguarding jobs in specialised farming and lake fishing and developing businesses. The promotion of tourism and leisure in the northern Saimaa area is also one of our key projects. Our municipal strategy includes our vision to be a cultural municipality, and this also means that culture must help create new jobs and earnings opportunities and increase the vitality of the municipality. The municipality will work closely with Business Joensuu and other actors to ensure that we succeed, says Esko Rautiainen, Municipal Manager of Rääkkylä.

In addition to services aimed at the launching, growth and internationalisation of companies, Business Joensuu will carry out numerous projects of the European Union Regional Development Fund, with funding from the ELY Centre and the Regional Council of North Karelia. The aim of the projects is to improve the success of companies in the region in national and international competition.

At the moment, Business Joensuu provides business and employment services through a full-service model to its main owner, the City of Joensuu, and also to the City of Outokumpu, as well as to the municipalities of Heinävesi, Polvijärvi and Ilomantsi. The new agreement will include the City of Kitee and the municipalities of Rääkkylä and Tohmajärvi.

Further information:

Tomi Haring, CEO, Business Joensuu, tel. +358 400 380 130,
tomi.haring@businessjoensuu.fi

Pekka Hirvonen, Mayor, Kitee, tel. +358 40 105 1001, pekka.hirvonen@kitee.fi

Esko Rautiainen, Municipal Manager, Rääkkylä, tel. +358 40 105 3001,
esko.rautiainen@raakkyla.fi

Mikko Löppönen, Municipal Manager, Tohmajärvi, tel. +358 40 105 4001,
mikko.lopponen@tohmajarvi.fi