Kuutti Kilpeläinen, Senior Investment Manager and Head of Digital Infrastructure and Solutions portfolio

“My interest towards emerging markets started when I spent an exchange semester in Shanghai while studying. Both the time in China as well as working in Hong Kong later really opened my eyes and made me understand how many different realities there are in the world.

My background is in investment and corporate banking and I came to Finnfund looking for impact. I believe that an investor can have a big impact on a country’s financial development and equality progress, especially in developing countries. Smart money can make a change. I work with investments in digital infrastructure and solutions and I’m convinced that digital development is crucial for our target countries. The sector is very versatile as our team works with both large and small scale projects, from infrastructure to solutions for consumers. We invest in commercially attractive high impact businesses within the emerging markets digital value chain and our special focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Finnfund currently has investments in 53 countries and for me, learning about the business environment in different countries is a valuable experience. As an Investment Manager, my job is to lead an investment through the process and I enjoy doing this together with my colleagues who are experts in environmental & social, impact and legal issues. Solid teamwork ensures that every investment is profitable, sustainable and generates measurable impact.”