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Dear Finnfund Community,
2025 has been a year of progress and purpose. In this December edition of the Finnfund Update, I am especially proud of our collaboration with the European Union to launch the EU’s largest guarantee programme for the digital sector helping to mobilise up to 2 billion euros for digitalisation projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The programme focuses on building broadband connectivity, developing digital solutions, and improving access to products and services, with the EU providing guarantees worth 222 million euros for Finnfund’s investments.
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Bridging the digital divide is a key focus area at Finnfund. In this edition of our newsletter, you can also read about our work on Child-Lens Investing in the digital infrastructure and solutions sector, as well as the interconnections between human rights and the digital sector. In addition, financial inclusion is highlighted in our investment together with the Development Bank of Austria in CRDB Bank Burundi.
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As shared in the latest CFO Insight, in Q3 Finnfund successfully completed the first close of the Digital Access Impact Fund, the first fully Finnfund-managed fund. The initial close raised 80 million euros. The fund provides professional investors the opportunity to enter emerging markets alongside Finnfund.
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On behalf of the Finnfund team, I would like to say thank-you to all our stakeholders for impactful collaboration and wish you a happy holiday season, and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
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Jaakko Kangasniemi
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P.S. We hope you find this quarterly newsletter useful. Should you wish to receive this newsletter in the future, but have not yet joined our subscribers, please click here. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Investment decisions and disbursements in Q3/2025
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CFO Insights into Q3 2025
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"In Q3, Finnfund successfully completed the first close of the Digital Access Impact Fund, the first fully Finnfund-managed fund. The initial close raised 80 million euros.
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New investment decisions accelerated during the quarter. To date in 2025, we have made 15 new investment decisions totalling 124 million euros," says Finnfund's Chief Financial Officer Olli Sinnemaa. Read more
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Finland and the EU launch major programme targeting to mobilise up to 2 billion euros for digitalisation projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America
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Finnfund, a Finnish impact investor, is joining forces with the European Union to launch the EU’s largest guarantee programme for the digital sector. Under the EU Finnfund Global Connected Guarantee initiative, the EU will provide guarantees worth 222 million euros for Finnfund’s investments, helping to mobilise up to 2 billion euros for projects that advance digitalisation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more
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Finnfund’s Kuutti Kilpeläinen: “Fibre networks are the best way to bridge the digital divide and invest with impact in emerging markets”
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“Our main task in 2026 is to promote digital inclusion and narrow the digital gap between emerging and developed markets through investment. We create connections for people, businesses, and governments,” Kilpeläinen says. Read more
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Finnfund and OeEB invest in CRDB Bank Burundi to support financial inclusion
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Finnfund and OeEB, the Development Bank of Austria, are jointly investing 25 million US dollars in CRDB Bank Burundi, a subsidiary of Tanzania’s largest bank, CRDB Bank Plc. The investment is supported by the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) guarantee, enabling financing in one of the world’s most vulnerable and underserved markets. Read more
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Merja Rissanen returned to Finnfund as Chief People Officer: “Culture does not emerge on its own”
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Finnfund’s new Chief People Officer Merja Rissanen returned to Finnfund after more than a decade. Her task is to make the strategic elements of HR more visible and to develop the organisational culture together with the staff. She emphasises that culture does not emerge on its own – it requires conscious leadership, everyday actions and interaction. Read more
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Respecting human rights in the digital sector
BLOG - The rapid growth of the digital sector brings new opportunities for advancing human rights through access to information and more transparency, but it may also undermine them through digital risks such as privacy violations, surveillance, exposure to harmful content, and the spread of disinformation.
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In celebration of Human Rights Day on December 10, we had a conversation with Finnfund’s Senior Environmental and Social Adviser Sylvie Fraboulet-Jussila and Senior Investment Manager Kuutti Kilpeläinen to learn more about navigating human rights in the digital age.
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BLOG - ”Investing in children means investing in the future, in tomorrow’s citizens, workforce, consumers, and leaders. It is important to recognise that all investor actions ultimately have an impact on children whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally,” says Chief Sustainability Officer Kaisa Alavuotunki.
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Would you like to know more?
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Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor. Finnfund builds a sustainable future and generates lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges with Finnish added value. Each year, we invest 200–250 million euros in 20–30 companies in developing countries. Our focus is particularly on digital infrastructure and solutions, clean energy, forestry, agriculture, and on providing funding for small and medium-sized enterprises through financial institutions. Today, Finnfund’s investments, commitments, and investment decisions total about 1.3 billion euros. The company has about 100 employees based in Helsinki and Nairobi. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi
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