Juulia Voronova is the Migrant Entrepreneur of the Year

The Estonian-born private dentist Juulia Voronova says that ways to support migrant entrepreneurs in Finland include enterprise training in their own language and networking opportunities.

“This would make it easier for them to enter the Finnish market and community,” Voronova says.

Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association, and the pension provider Elo awarded Voronova the Migrant Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 title. The award decision stressed that “this business owner is being recognized, in particular, for her steadfastness in a sector that is very difficult for immigrants to enter”.

Juulia Voronova has operated as a private dentist in Keuruu for almost exactly a decade. Voronova, who comes from the city of Sillamäe, was inspired by her younger sister to come to Finland.

“My little sister’s a dentist, and she moved to Finland when she got a job in the Savonlinna health centre. Because of that, I started looking into job opportunities in Finland,” Voronova says.

Voronova found a posting on a job centre website searching for a new practitioner to take over a private dentist’s office in Keuruu.

“I thought Keuruu seemed like a pleasant little town, so I seized the opportunity. I moved to Keuruu to continue Riitta Ryynänen’s private dental practice.”

At the time, Ryynänen was retiring and searching for a successor. Ryynänen and Voronova agreed on a change of ownership of the company.

“That arrangement meant I could use Ryynänen’s old offices, and the same dental assistant stayed on to help me. At first, starting my own business felt challenging, but Ryynänen helped me in the initial phase,” Voronova says.

Finland good to do business in

Voronova treats about 30 clients a week. In addition to Keuruu, she has plenty of clients from the neighbouring municipalities of Petäjävesi, Multia and Mänttä-Vilppula.

Voronova thinks that running a business is more secure than in Estonia, as Finland offers good social security and a support network for business owners. In addition, she thinks that government services in Finland are smoother and more systematic.

“For example, tax and digital services are smoother here. In addition, Finland has much better long-term supports, such as in healthcare and the pension systems.”

However, Voronova thinks that starting a business as a migrant to Finland can be challenging and nerve-racking because of the language and culture.

“The most challenging thing is creating a strong client base and sorting out all the business red tape,” Voronova says.

Voronova completed further training in dentistry in Tartu in 1997. After that, she returned to her hometown and started working there. Before she moved to Finland, Voronova had worked as a dentist in Sillamäe for around 17 years, first in a health centre and then running her own private practice.

Strong ties to Estonia

Voronova is married with a daughter and two sons.

“My husband lives in our hometown in Estonia. My daughter, our eldest, lives in Helsinki and is studying agricultural economics at the university there. My eldest son lives and is studying business in Tampere. My youngest, our 13-year-old son, lives at home with me and goes to school in Keuruu.”

The family has strong ties to Estonia. They spend a lot of time with Voronova’s husband and visit her mother.

“As well as that, I know fellow dentists in Estonia that I exchange experiences of dentistry with.”

Voronova has liked living in Finland.

“Finland’s a wonderful country, and Finland is a good place to run a business. A wide range of help and support is on offer, such as for developing your business.”

Winning the Migrant Entrepreneur of the Year title was a pleasant surprise for Voronova.
“I feel that I’ve done my job correctly and I’m grateful that my clients appreciate my work. This recognition motivates me to continue doing the best in future to help my clients and become an even better dentist.”