We need ambitious targets for nature and biodiversity

Anne Arvola

In the middle of Finnish winter, birds are swarming around the feeding place in my garden but many species that were frequent visitors 20 years ago are not around. To be honest, I’m not a winter –person and I’m dreaming of my childhood springs, how blooming apple trees spread their scent in the garden, and […]

December 12, 2022

A tale of surveillance – investor’s role in dealing with data confidentiality

Sylvie Fraboulet-Jussila

For me, Address Unknown is one of those books that everyone should read, over and over. It is one of those books that resonate when I think about cybersecurity, user data confidentiality, telecom sector and democracy. Despite the fact that the book was written in 1938, the basic idea is still, unfortunately, very topical today. […]

June 27, 2022

Stakeholders’ voice – using technology to collect feedback directly from the key people

Anne Arvola

The world has now lived with the Covid-19 pandemic for over two years. The evidence shows that it has hit the least-developed countries the hardest. At the same time, climate change is increasingly affecting peoples’ daily lives. Again, those already in vulnerable positions are suffering the most. In this milieu, there is a need to understand […]

June 6, 2022

Getting together again – EDFI spring meeting brought E&S and impact specialists to Helsinki

European development finance institutions’ (EDFI) E&S and Impact Spring meeting brought both environmental & social sustainability and impact specialists together on 25-27 April in Helsinki. The meeting consisted of three days full of discussions and knowledge sharing on climate change policies and practices in mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, human rights, impact management, and so forth. […]

May 4, 2022

Listen to your stakeholders

Kirsi Pere

In order to make good, smart decisions, we must have a thorough understanding of the changes in our operational environment and listen to our key people. This was the main idea when we started to work on our stakeholder survey. We wanted to know what our key people – such as our owners and other […]

March 7, 2022

Keep up the good work – stakeholder survey provides feedback and ideas on Finnfund’s operations

In the future, how should Finnfund develop its operations as a development financier and impact investor? What are the key issues it should particularly focus on? Which areas of impact and sustainability are the most relevant? When thinking about the field of development finance, what are the trends or issues that will be in the […]

“Among the best-performing organisations”– external review of Finnfund’s Human Rights Statement and its implementation is ready

“The review provides us a valuable analysis, recommendations, and second opinion both by experienced consultants and our stakeholders. It does not only provide us information on where we are currently standing at in terms of our path to implement our human rights approach but also gives us recommendations to move forward and further improve our […]

February 14, 2022

We are biodiversity

Seela Sinisalo

Biodiversity has risen to the current sustainability discussions alongside climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. It is increasingly clear that biodiversity risks are material and relevant to businesses both in developing countries and in the developed world. In early 2021, The Economics of Biodiversity: The Das Gupta Review underlined our dependence on the natural […]

January 12, 2022

Client protection in microfinancing is part of financial inclusion

Riikka Thomson

Microcredit and microfinance refer to very small loans for individuals or micro-businesses. In some context, it refers to other services as well such as micro-insurance, micro-pensions, micro-leasing, and even micro-savings. More importantly, it is about providing access to formal financing and participation for people in need of money to set up or expand their businesses. […]

December 22, 2021

Learning to understand (and manage) climate risks

Seela Sinisalo

Floods, typhoons and tornados, forest fires, drought, and extreme heat. Extreme weather conditions have become part of our daily news. As the drastic effects of climate change become more evident, financiers, such as Finnfund, must learn to understand and live with the risks. Understanding the climate risks is particularly important because nearly all our portfolio […]

December 15, 2021