What Finland Gets Right
I came to Helsinki to visit a dear friend who'd just moved here — but also to explore how a country with one of the highest happiness rankings in the world actually does it. What sets them apart?
The people are a touch reserved, a touch introverted. It suits me well.
The city itself feels harmonious - urban life folded gently into nature, with architecture that masterfully blends classic Nordic form with contemporary design. Nothing feels forced.
What strikes me most, though, is the sense of an inclusive society: one that takes care of its citizens, pays fair wages, and offers free education so the playing field is leveled regardless of upbringing. Sanna Marin is the example that comes to mind - her background was humble, and yet she became Finland's youngest-ever prime minister.
Then there's the clean tech landscape. I won't pretend to know it intimately, but from what I can tell, it's vibrant - wind and solar making up roughly 40% of the grid mix, a battery value chain spanning recycled materials to mining, and a growing renewable fuels sector (hydrogen, e-fuels, biofuels).
A big part of that vibrancy seems to come from how public and private support is layered across every stage of development. Business Finland offers grants and loans for R&D. For early commercialization, a state-owned Climate Fund provides risk capital - which likely gives the "first-of-a-kind" (FOAK) valley of death a good boost. And for growth-stage capital, Tesi, a state-owned investment company, co-invests alongside private VC funds.
Canada's Growth Fund mirrors this approach in spirit. But where Canada's clean tech funding model is highly decentralized, Finland keeps continuity: Business Finland handles both innovation funding and export promotion, so a company can move from lab, to growth, to export expansion without changing hands.
When I go home, I know I'll be taking a piece of Finland with me. May we all carry a bit of it with us - and maybe emulate a little of it too. It feels sorely needed right now.
