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The Finnish development financier and impact investor Finnfund will open its first regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2022. Finnfund seeks to build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges. The opening of the Nairobi office will strengthen the updated strategic goals.
The newly released strategy places a strong emphasis on Africa, with half of Finnfund’s upcoming investments in Africa. Local presence is seen as a key factor for growing the volume of investments in the region.
"Africa is the place to be for European development financiers. It is a continent where jobs and investments are very much needed, and at the same time, it is the new frontier, where opportunities abound, and life is getting better for millions of people. Some of our best and most impactful investments are in East Africa, and we intend to make many more such investments in the coming years," says Jaakko Kangasniemi, the CEO of Finnfund.
At the start, 2-3 investment professionals will be deployed in the Nairobi office.
"The regional office will play a central role in strengthening our position in the East African market. The location supports and streamlines the follow-up of the regional market and existing projects and collaboration with co-investors," says the head of the Nairobi office Johanna Raehalme.
Finnfund invests 200-250 million euros in 20-30 companies throughout developing countries each year. Finnfund places special emphasis on sectors that are critical to sustainable development, namely; renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture, financial institutions and digital infrastructure and solutions. Today, Finnfund’s investments and commitments total about 1.070 billion euros. The company currently has 90 employees.
