The City of Joensuu and Business Joensuu have jointly developed a novel model to support creative sector and event sector, which have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The creative business voucher is introduced as a novel experiment to support the initialisation of new services, new business experiments and production of services which aims to create business.
The creative business voucher is meant to supplement existing COVID-19 subsidies.
– Previously, all operators didn’t meet the criteria for various COVID-19 subsidies. The creative business voucher is intended to be an easily accessed form of aid, which operators find easy to apply for, says Tuomo Roivas, Business Services Director of Business Joensuu.
The creative business voucher can be applied for by creative and event sector operators from Joensuu who have a Business ID. The amount of aid that will be granted is 1 000 euros and the aid will be granted to 25 companies in total. The application period is from 1st to 31st of July 2021. Decisions for granting the aid will be made in August.
The creative business voucher can be applied for through Business Joensuu. More information and the application form can be found at www.businessjoensuu.fi/luova-exit (in Finnish).
The creative business voucher is a part of a larger support package through which the City of Joensuu supports the creative and event sectors which have suffered from local and national COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
– We want to help the recovery of the creative and event sectors with this contribution. Measures are targeted so that they should help those who haven’t received national support in particular, says Leena Hoppania, deputy Director of Culture of City of Joensuu.
The reserved funds ,total 90 000 euros, are divided into several different support measures. Core measures include hiring creative sector professionals and freelancers for artistic work, the introduction of the creative business voucher, granting the Torien Timantti easy access event subsidy and granting relief or exemption from the rents of city’s premises.
– The field of the sector’s operators is very diverse. Our starting point in the preparing the support measures was to create a diverse support package that can help as many as possible. We prepared a large package, from which each operator can choose a form of support which best fits their situation, adds Hoppania.
Information on all of the city’s support measures can be found at www.joensuu.fi/luovan-alan-exit (in Finnish).
