Trainee story: meet communications trainee Gwen Borning

Gwen Borning joined Finnfund as a trainee in the communications team at the beginning of May 2025. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Strategic Management in a Changing World at Aalto University and previously completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration at Babson College in the United States. She also has previous experience in marketing and communications.

Meaningful and creative work

Gwen said she was eager to apply to Finnfund because it allowed her to draw on her background in marketing and communications while working in a company where sustainability is central to its work. She had specifically wanted to learn more about sustainable international development, so the traineeship at Finnfund was well aligned with her passions and interests.

In her role, Gwen supports a variety of internal and external communications tasks, with a large focus on social media development. She drafts written content and designs visual content including Finnfund branded social media graphic templates. In addition to content creation, she also supports media bank organization, video production, and website development.

Gwen says, “Joining the communications team was very smooth. My team was welcoming and asked me to get started on meaningful work very quickly. I’ve enjoyed having a lot of creative freedom in how I approach different tasks”.

Gwen reflects that one of her favourite projects was making a video in the office for World Environment Day at the beginning of June. “It was a very creative project and something different from what Finnfund has traditionally done. I shared many laughs with my colleagues and had a lot of fun in the process”.

Welcoming international atmosphere

As an international employee, Gwen says she had no problem fitting in. She explains, “The culture at Finnfund is very international as the work is internationally-based and there are employees from several nationalities. The fact that I do not speak Finnish has never been an issue and I have always felt included”. Outside of work, Gwen has enjoyed getting to know her colleagues better during lunches, at company events, and doing sports together.

When asked if she would recommend a traineeship at Finnfund, Gwen said, “Absolutely. Everyone in the company is very welcoming and the workplace culture is the best I’ve ever been a part of. There is a lot to gain during a traineeship at Finnfund including skills, knowledge, experience, and close relationships with colleagues”.

“The culture at Finnfund is very international as the work is internationally-based and there are employees from several nationalities. The fact that I do not speak Finnish has never been an issue and I have always felt included”, says Gwen.