About The Entrepreneur Fund

The Unemployment Fund for Entrepreneurs (formerly SYT) was founded  in 1995, when legislation was amended to enable the founding of unemployment funds for entrepreneurs. At the same time another unemployment fund was founded too, i.e., AYT. After the funds merged as of January 1, 2020, the fund continued its operations under the name of SYT. 

On June 16, 2020, SYT changed its name to Unemployment Fund for Entrepreneurs or Entrepreneur Fund in short. 

Entrepreneur Fund’s tasks

The Entrepreneur Fund is an organisation operating according to the principle of mutual responsibility. The fund was founded for the purpose of providing for its members income security and related expense compensation as provided for in the Unemployment Security Act, and income support as provided for in the Act on Public Employment and Business Service, as well as for providing other statutory benefits falling under the fund’s scope of activities in accordance with current legislation. 

The Entrepreneur Fund is a politically and ideologically independent unemployment fund with focus on serving our entrepreneurs. 

The fund is managed by its members. The Entrepreneur Fund’s final decision-making power is exercised by the General Meeting, which is open to all members to attend. The fund’s Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that the fund’s affairs are handled in accordance with current legislation, the fund’s By-Laws and decisions made by the fund’s General Meeting. 

The Entrepreneur Fund is intended to serve entrepreneurs, agricultural entrepreneurs, entrepreneur spouses, company shareholders, light entrepreneurs and practitioners, regardless of branch of industry or company form. 

Merja Jokinen is the Entrepreneur Fund’s Fund Manager and 19 employees carry out various duties such as processing of allowance applications and customer service.

The Entrepreneur Fund currently has over 30,000 members. The fund pays daily allowance to an average of 950 members each month.

You can test whether or not you are considered an entrepreneur in terms of unemployment security

Fund management and oversight

In their roles as final decision-making authorities, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health oversees management, control and development for the part of matters relating to income security, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment oversees labour market policy matters. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health issues provisions for the execution of unemployment benefits to the unemployment funds. 

The unemployment funds’ execution of benefits is subject to oversight of the Financial Supervisory Board. The Financial Supervisory Board oversees and audits that all unemployment funds comply with current legislation and good insurance practice and are using appropriate procedures in their operations. The Financial Supervisory Board follows up and evaluates the economic position, leadership, control and risk management systems and operating prerequisites as well as changes in the operating environment for the part of their control objects.