In the Municipal Image 2021 survey for business decision-makers (Kuntien imago 2021), Vaasa was ranked sixth in the TOP 10 list of municipalities in terms of overall impression. The ranking Vaasa received has improved significantly from last year and the willingness to recommend Vaasa has increased more than in any other municipality. According to the study, the recommendation score (NPS) received by Vaasa was the fourth best. The annual economic survey is targeted at the business communities of municipalities, such as CEOs, CFOs and representatives of companies.

Vaasa ranked sixth in the comparison of all municipalities in terms of overall impression, but third in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Among the individual themes related to the city’s image from a business perspective, the municipality’s marketing, cooperation between the municipality and companies, support for innovation and the strengthening of urban vitality rose highly. Vaasa was ranked among the top five municipalities in as many as 13 different categories. When evaluating the availability of labour, providing information to companies, and the city centre’s commercial services, Vaasa was ranked among the top ten.

Respondents were asked to provide their ratings for the municipalities in which they do business. A total of 1,727 respondents from Finland’s 36 largest municipalities or cities answered the survey.

“Based on the results, it can be said that the closer a company is to the City of Vaasa, the more positively the city will be evaluated. The most critical are those companies that have nothing to do with the City of Vaasa in matters related to their business,” explains Senior Insight Manager at market research company Taloustutkimus, Timo Myllymäki.

Ranked among the top of the country

In the statements, Vaasa was assessed most positively in terms of entrepreneurship and the strengthening of urban vitality. The biggest development targets were focussed on the city’s transportation routes and connections, as well as co-operation between municipalities. Vaasa’s result is better than the average municipality / city in all other statements except transportation routes and connections.

“It's great to see that long-term development work to facilitate entrepreneurship is paying off. Our goal is to make Vaasa a place where private enterprise is easy and the everyday life of businesses runs smoothly. We regularly meet with representatives of the Vaasa entrepreneurs’ association, Vaasan Yrittäjät, to discuss and set annual targets together. With the help of these research results, we will also be better able to tackle and focus measures on those areas where improvements are especially needed,” says Mayor of Vaasa Tomas Häyry.

Vaasanseudun Kehitys Oy VASEK is a business and development company owned by the municipalities of the Vaasa region, the main owner of which is the City of Vaasa. VASEK’s main tasks are the provision of business services, development projects related to business and entrepreneurship, and regional marketing. VASEK provides free advice and support at all stages of a company’s life cycle.

“As a municipal business company, we want to promote cooperation between companies and entrepreneurs with the municipal sector. That’s why we took the initiative to obtain this study, which, through its broad content, serves as a timely indicator of the flow of things from the perspective of companies and provides a good basis for directing development activities in the future. The results show a great development for Vaasa in recent years, and now we are already among the top ranked in the country,” explains CEO of VASEK Stefan Råback.

Municipal barometer survey open for entrepreneurs

• The Municipal Image 2021 survey (Kuntien imago 2021) conducted by market research company Taloustutkimus is aimed at business decision-makers, and you can find out more about the survey results here (pdf, in Finnish).

At the moment, there is also a Finnish Entrepreneurs’ Association (Suomen Yrittäjät) Municipal Barometer Survey, which is aimed at all business owners.

“It’s good that these surveys are made now and then. The Municipal Image 2021 survey provides an indication of the kind of pull factors and development targets Vaasa has from the perspective of business decision-makers. With the help of the Suomen Yrittäjät Municipal Barometer, every business owner can express their own views regarding their own municipality. With these results, we can evaluate both failures and successes on a deeper level, which is why we hope that as many business owners as possible will respond to the Municipal Barometer. Of course, we also want to receive personal feedback from business owners on what we can develop regarding the business friendliness of the city,” summarises executive director Mari Pohjanniemi-Kivi, from Vaasan Yrittäjät.

• The Suomen Yrittäjät Municipal Barometer survey can be answered here. The survey is open until 31 March and can be answered in Finnish, Swedish or English.