MFA: Virtual Team Finland Day attracts more than 1,000 participants

Nearly 600 export companies and 400 experts from the Team Finland network will attend the event. Experts with knowledge of more than 90 markets worldwide will be available online, allowing companies to connect with those offering the best fit for their purpose, and to hear about their peer companies’ experiences of internationalisation.

The Team Finland Day, now organised for the eighth time, will be opened by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari. Ministers emphasise the fact that the world markets are now reshaping.
“For Finnish work and employment, it is of paramount importance to make sure that our companies perform well on the international market and that our exports pick up. For example, the EU Just Transition Fund for green growth and development will open new opportunities for Finnish technologies and solutions. The market potential in the energy cluster comes to billions of euros.”

During the day, companies can compare their experiences during the COVID-19 crisis and their plans for the future. Generally speaking, the pandemic caused exceptional and often challenging conditions, but in some sectors demand actually increased following large-scale transition to remote work.
“Our mission – to keep the digital society running – is particularly important now, during the coronavirus pandemic. We expect the coronavirus crisis to prompt companies to start investing more in digitalisation. This, in turn, creates a growing need for solutions that ensure cybersecurity,” says Petri Kairinen, CEO of Nixu Oyj, a cybersecurity services company.

According to David Solomon, CEO of MySoda, a company that manufactures sparkling water makers, the coronavirus crisis has actually opened new markets for the company as consumers stay at home and and buy fewer fizzy drinks and sparkling waters from the grocery store.

Outi Luukko, CEO of TouchPoint, a producer of ecological work clothes, has noticed that the pandemic has made people increasingly aware of environmental values. According to her, the fact that environmental values are widely discussed in society has promoted the ideology of sustainable development, resulting in more responsible procurement of work clothing as well as responsible recycling of post-consumer textiles.

Generally speaking, a crisis often offers opportunities,” says Mika Pirneskoski, CEO of Lamor, a company specialising in oil spill response solutions.
“Our business is to provide help and solutions in environmental crises. Therefore, our business is based on the idea that every crisis also involves opportunities.”

The media can attend the Team Finland Day event online: Create a user profile first (sign up), then join the event (join event), starting from 08:30.

The programme starts at 8:30 and ends at 16:00. Discussions of ministers and business panellists will take place between 9:00 and 10:00. For registration and requests for interviews, please contact Lotta Nuotio who is responsible for Team Finland communications at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Inquiries:
Juha Markkanen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 50 327 1314, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Maija Hakkarainen, Marketing Communications Manager, tel. +358 50 55 77 739, Business Finland
Media inquiries: Lotta Nuotio, Team Finland Communications, tel. +358 50 328 5430.

The email addresses of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi

The Team Finland network promotes the international success of Finland and Finnish enterprises. The services provided by the network are designed to foster the internationalisation of Finnish companies, attract investment in Finland, and promote Finland’s country brand globally. Read more about the Team Finland network and services available.