Finnfund

Recommended listening! 🎧 In this podcast, Finnfund's Kuutti Kilpeläinen and Niklas Simola discuss how investment in digital infrastructure can expand digital access and inclusion in emerging markets. Practical examples include companies like fibertime™ - listen to the podcast to find out how they bridge the digital divide in South Africa. Thank you Analysys Mason and Jenny Robertsson for this great opportunity to talk about how impact funds can drive meaningful change!

Registration is now open for the Impact network (vaikuttavuusverkosto) meeting: Impact investing in digital space! This event takes place live in Helsinki, Finland. The Impact network is an informal gathering of Finnish impact professionals from various backgrounds. The upcoming meeting on 4 November is co-organised by Nefco - the Nordic Green Bank and Finnfund and will be an engaging, in-person session focused on impact investing in digital space. The program features prominent speakers from Nefco, Finnfund, and UNICEF Finland, including enough time for questions and discussion. When: 4 November, at 9:00 – 11:00 (breakfast at 8:30) Where: Nefco, Fabianinkatu 34 (live attendance only) Who: Finnish impact professionals Limited seats are available, so act quick to reserve your place! Find the detailed event agenda and reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/e6qrdnxu #ImpactInvesting #Finnfund4Impact #Impactnetwork #vaikuttavuusverkosto 

Thank you Ville Wacklin for having Finnfund's Head of Digital Infrastructure and Solutions Kuutti Kilpeläinen as your (very first Finnish!) guest in your podcast! Africa’s digital infrastructure is still being built. Fiber. Data centers. Last mile. In this episode, Kuutti and Ville they dig into what actually gets a data center project into a DFI pipeline and why impact and returns must move together. See the episode here: https://lnkd.in/d8nDaD2x

Finnfund has made its first investment in Burundi! Together with OeEB Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG - The Development Bank of Austria, we are providing 25 million US dollars in financing to CRDB Bank Burundi, backed by the EFSD+ guarantee from the European Commission. The investment aims to boost financial inclusion, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which face a significant funding gap in Burundi. At least 30% of the funding will support women-owned businesses and the initiative is expected to benefit around 4,000 MSMEs, contributing to economic growth and social impact in one of the world’s most vulnerable markets. “This transaction scores high on development impact, with strong strategic relevance, market development potential, and additionality. It demonstrates how targeted financing can catalyse economic transformation in frontier markets” said Ulla-Maija Rantapuska, Senior Investment Manager at Finnfund. Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/dmgbvF-s

Our investee company Fuzu Ltd is celebrating their 10-year anniversary! The Kenyan-Finnish company Fuzu is Africa’s #1 career platform, connecting companies with exceptional talent across Africa, Europe, and the US. Since its launch in 2015, Fuzu has grown into a global talent ecosystem that goes beyond simply job matching. Fuzu provides AI-driven services for job seekers and employers alike through smart recommendations, powerful tools to manage recruitment journeys, and career-building solutions. Over the past decade, Fuzu has supported more than 15M people, built a community of 2.5M+ professionals growing by 20,000 every month, and connected with 10,000+ employers worldwide. “Fuzu has built something truly special—an ecosystem that empowers job seekers and employers alike with clarity, purpose, and innovation. Their commitment to inclusive growth and data-driven decision-making is reshaping how talent connects with opportunity across Africa and beyond”, says Kuutti Kilpeläinen Senior Investment Manager at Finnfund. Finnfund is proud to have supported Fuzu through nearly the entire decade, with our initial partnership starting in 2016. Finnfund’s financing has supported Fuzu’s expansion across Africa and the globe. Congratulations to Fuzu on 10 successful years! You can learn more about Fuzu’s impact here: https://lnkd.in/eYaSVEuV #FuzuAt10 #FutureOfWork #Finnfund4Impact #ImpactInvesting

Meet our new Chief People Officer, Merja Rissanen! She has worked at Finnfund before, in 2014. While many things have changed since then, she still recognises the same cultural traits as before: committed, intelligent and highly educated professionals with a strong culture of getting things done. One of her tasks is to develop the organisational culture together with the Finnfund staff. She emphasises that culture does not emerge on its own – it requires conscious leadership, everyday actions and interaction. “Organisational culture is everything that happens when no one is watching. How I treat the cleaner, how managers lead, how people interact with one another.” Read the interview: https://lnkd.in/dVx3zfwU

Child-Lens Investing: Advancing positive outcomes for children while minimising harm UNICEF’s Child-Lens Investing Framework (CLIF) was launched at the GIIN Forum two years ago. This year, a GIIN side event will highlight progress to date, showcase concrete applications, address key challenges, and outline the next steps. In August, Finnfund became the first development financier to apply a child lens. Our Chief Sustainability Officer Kaisa Alavuotunki will share Finnfund’s experiences of integrating child-related considerations in the investment process of the Finnfund Digital Access Impact Fund I LP.   Finnfund contributed to the development of the CLIF, providing expertise and insights stemming from the investor’s long experience in sustainable finance. The CLIF builds on the recognition that every investment decision has direct or indirect impacts on children. Finnfund’s approach to Child-Lens Investing was developed in collaboration with UNICEF Innovative Finance Hub. Read more about CLIF here: https://lnkd.in/d8yPAVc7

Good news! 🎉 Our continued investment in Wave Mobile Money is accelerating financial inclusion across Africa! 🚀 Wave Mobile Money is Africa’s fastest-growing mobile money platform and currently operates in eight markets. With this new investment, Wave will strengthen its working capital and accelerate growth in both existing and new markets, expanding access to mobile money and financial services for underserved communities. Since its launch in 2018, Wave has grown to serve more than 20 million monthly active users through a network of over 150,000 agents and more than 3,000 employees across the continent. The company’s mobile-first model – built on low fees, intuitive design, and around-the-clock customer support – has transformed the financial experience for users, significantly benefitting women by enhancing their financial independence. We are proud to build upon our initial partnership in 2022 through this new investment which is supported by the European Union and the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus. 👉Read more about the investment here:  https://lnkd.in/dn93hwvC #ImpactInvesting #Finnfund4Impact #MobileMoney

September issue of Finnfund Update is now out! Articles include: 💡 Finnfund announces successful first closing of Finnfund Digital Access Impact Fund I LP 💡 Wave raises EUR 117 million to accelerate financial inclusion across the African continent 💡 Finnfund closed a 4 million US dollar debt investment with Kenyan Poa Internet to expand affordable broadband Check out the newsletter to read more: https://lnkd.in/ezEdTn7a To subscribe, see the link in the comments!

Such a great evening with the Finnfund alumni network! 🤩 Thank you everyone who took the time and participated 🥰 We love to keep in touch with our staff members even after they move on from Finnfund. If we are lucky, some of them might return one day! This time we heard some insights from our alumni network members Eero Siltalehto and Minna Kuusisto, while Jaakko Kangasniemi and Hanna Loikkanen updated the network about Finnfund's latest news. If you would like to learn more about what it's like to work at Finnfund, see our website: https://lnkd.in/dKvaEjdJ #finnfund4impact