Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Finnfund and Finnpartnership
According to an independent evaluation, development financier Finnfund and the Finnpartnership programme are key instruments for advancing Finland’s development policy objectives and international economic relations. They support Finnish companies in entering and expanding in emerging markets. The evaluation concludes that maintaining their impact requires sufficient public funding and the further development of these instruments. The evaluation covers the period 2019-2025.
The evaluation shows that Finnfund is a unique actor for the Finnish government. It effectively finances sustainable business activities in developing countries, attracts private investment, and operates on a financially self-sustaining basis. Finnfund is regarded as a reliable partner whose strength lies in its strong focus on sustainability and responsible business practices. The growth of Finnfund’s operations is constrained by the state’s relatively low level of funding and the company’s high level of indebtedness. The evaluation recommends that the Finnish government strengthens Finnfund’s capital base. It also recommends placing even greater emphasis on profitability, in line with the current state ownership policy and the company’s strategy. EU guarantees have proven to be an important tool in recent years for enabling Finnfund to fulfil its development impact mandate. These guarantees have allowed Finnfund to take on greater risk while maintaining the financial sustainability of its operations.
The Finnpartnership Business Partnership Programme is an important instrument, particularly for the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the evaluation, there is strong demand for the programme’s services, and there is also a need to expand the programme. Opportunities related to the reconstruction of Ukraine have increased companies’ interest in the programme. The evaluation also highlights areas for improvement: application processes should be significantly simplified and accelerated, and funding should be targeted more clearly towards companies with strong growth potential.