Trainee story: meet analyst trainee Oskar Kojonen

Oskar Kojonen joined Finnfund in the spring of 2024 as trainee in the investment analyst team. He completed his bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in accounting at Aalto University where he will continue with his master’s degree in finance.

Opportunity to growth

Oskar’s main responsibilities involve going through financial statements of investee companies, tracking their data in Finnfund’s own systems and completing analyses. He also supports the analysis and forecasting of new investments. Over his time at Finnfund, his role has grown as he is able to take on more responsibilities, and he is playing a big part in an in-house development project.

“My role has only become more interesting as I continue to learn new things and my tasks become more difficult. The experience I’ve gained is invaluable, especially being exposed to how companies in different countries operate and approach their financials”, says Oskar.

Oskar emphasises that he has gained a big picture view of Finnfund’s investments because he looks at the financial statements from all the investee companies. There is a lot of variety because the companies are so different from each other, operating in various sectors and countries. Each project offers exposure to a different way of doing things and different working cultures.

He says, “I have learned so much about the world of development finance and impact investing. I could definitely see myself working in this field in the future. Working closely with projects, I have been able to see how companies make a positive impact and financial returns at the same time – it’s a win-win situation”.

Oskar continued his traineeship part-time alongside his studies. He says it was very easy to balance due to the flexible hours and days. For example, he was able to adjust his schedule to accommodate time to complete his bachelor’s thesis.

Welcoming and supportive atmosphere

Over the year, he has enjoyed good times with his colleagues, including team days and holiday parties. He particularly notes that team days foster a good environment for building strong relationships.

When asked if he would recommend a traineeship at Finnfund, Oskar responded, “Yes, ever since the beginning, my team has been welcoming and supportive. It is quite easy to integrate in the company and you get to learn a lot from colleagues who have years of expertise”. He also mentions that Finnfund provided a “soft landing” into working life since it was his first professional experience. His colleagues were kind and supportive, while also trusting him to jump right in.

“I have learned so much about the world of development finance and impact investing. I could definitely see myself working in this field in the future. Working closely with projects, I have been able to see how companies make a positive impact and financial returns at the same time – it’s a win-win situation”. says Oskar.