Finnfund

The Board of Finnfund (the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd.) has appointed Dr. Jaakko Kangasniemi as its new Managing Director with effect from 15 February.

Jaakko Kangasniemi is trained in economics (Ph.D.) and finance (M.B.A.), and specialized in developing countries. He joins Finnfund from the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Department for International Development Cooperation, where he has been an Economic Advisor. He previously served as an economist at the World Bank.

Many developing countries are rapidly opening their economies to private enterprise, Kangasniemi says, while Finnish companies are becoming more interested in the developing world. ”The challenge is to convert this interest into mutually beneficial investment. In unsettled conditions, even good projects can be derailed by lack of funding. Finnfund’s task is to finance profitable investments in new markets. The updated Finnfund Act and the forthcoming strategy form an excellent foundation for developing the company.”

Finnfund finances companies, in which a Finnish interest is involved, to be established and operating in developing and transitional countries. Its total assets are about 150 million euros.

Pertti Majanen
Chairman of the Board