OP Uusimaa OP Pohjola's Room for Growth SME Survey: Companies in the Uusimaa region are more eager to grow than those in the rest of the country

OP Pohjola's Room for Growth SME Survey was conducted in February–March 2026, with approximately 540 executives from over 500 SMEs nationwide responding. A total of 237 executives from 221 companies participated in the survey in the Uusimaa region; more than 50 per cent of them were company CEOs.

SMEs in the Uusimaa region have higher growth targets than those in the rest of the country

According to the survey, the most common growth target for small and mid-sized enterprises is a roughly 30 per cent increase in sales over a three-year period, which translates to less than 10 per cent annual growth.

"This means annual growth of less than 10%, which is a rather low growth target for an SME. Only one in six SMEs aim for strong growth, or to at least double their revenue over the next three years," says professor Jaakko Aspara who led the study in Nordic Institute of Business & Society (NIBS).

However, the proportion of companies aiming for strong growth is higher in Uusimaa than elsewhere in Finland.

In Uusimaa, 42 per cent of small SMEs are aiming for at least 50 per cent growth over the next three years, and 35 per cent of mid-sized SMEs are targeting similar growth. Elsewhere in Finland, the corresponding figures are 32 and 27 per cent.

“Since about one-third of all Finnish companies are based in Uusimaa, the growth ambitions of the region’s small and mid-sized enterprises are of exceptional importance to Finland’s overall economic development. Based on the survey, there is clearly a drive for growth among SMEs in Uusimaa, even though there are still significant uncertainties in the business environment," says Hannu Ujula, Executive Vice President at OP Uusimaa, corporate and institutional customers.

Investment plans are stronger particularly among small businesses in the Uusimaa region

In the Uusimaa region, the drive for growth is also reflected in the strategic priorities of companies. While only about one-third of small and mid-sized enterprises in the whole of Finland are focusing primarily on expanding their operations this year, the proportion is significantly higher in Uusimaa. 43 per cent of small businesses and 36 per cent of mid-sized companies operating in the Uusimaa region prioritise expanding their operations over improving efficiency. Small businesses in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, in particular, stand out from the rest of the country as being more growth-oriented.

In the Uusimaa region, investment intentions among small and mid-sized enterprises are, on average, slightly higher than in the rest of the country. This is particularly evident in small businesses. 44 per cent of small and mid-sized enterprises in the Uusimaa region plan to increase their investments over the next 12 months, while the corresponding figure for the rest of Finland is 33 per cent.

Investments are primarily focused on developing existing business operations, such as product and service improvements, sales, and marketing and communications. In the Uusimaa region, companies are making more investments in growth – including acquisitions – than in the rest of the country.

Companies in the Uusimaa region expect their workforce to grow significantly more than in the rest of Finland

Although Finland’s GDP growth is forecast to be less than 1 per cent this year, small and mid-sized enterprises across the country plan to increase their workforce by an average of 2.5 to 4 per cent this year. In the Uusimaa region, small businesses plan to increase their local workforce by an average of up to 6 per cent.

SMEs with employees abroad are increasing their overseas workforce by an average of 5 to 15 per cent. Small and mid-sized enterprises in the Uusimaa region plan to expand their workforce abroad to a greater extent than companies operating elsewhere in Finland.

The biggest obstacles to growth are related to regulation and cost levels

The most significant barriers to growth for small and mid-sized enterprises in Uusimaa are largely the same as those faced nationwide, but certain factors are more pronounced in the region. In Uusimaa, the following factors in particular dampen growth prospects:

In contrast, factors related to financing are less often considered significant barriers to growth in the Uusimaa region.

Companies in the Uusimaa region are also more optimistic about economic development than those in the rest of Finland. According to the survey, the vast majority of small and mid-sized enterprises expect demand and the economic situation in Finland to improve in the second half of 2026. Companies in Uusimaa expect the trend to shift toward growth slightly earlier than companies in the rest of the country, both within their own region and abroad. However, the outbreak of the war in Iran clearly led to an increase in "I prefer not to say" responses, as about half of the responses were submitted after 28 February 2026.

The Room for Growth survey

Room for Growth is a survey of the views of Finnish small and mid-sized enterprises on growth, investments, society and the business environment (including government policy, regulations and risks), domestic and international market conditions and current themes, such as artificial intelligence and sustainability reporting.

Unlike many other SME surveys, the Room for Growth survey does not include micro corporates; instead, the sample consists only of small and mid-sized enterprises with a turnover of at least 2 million euros.

Conducted in February–March, nearly 540 executives (almost 50% of them managing directors) from more than 500 companies responded to the Room for Growth Survey 2026. The Room for Growth Survey was conducted for the first time this year, and its purpose is to offer a counterpart focusing on the SME sector to OP's Survey of Large Corporations, which has been published by OP Pohjola a total of 14 times since 2012. Both surveys are carried out by the Nordic Institute of Business & Society (NIBS) think tank founded by Aalto University professors.