Evaluation helps Finnvera develop its operations further

Finnvera’s Managing Director Markku Mäkinen: The international evaluation conducted on Finnvera is part of the steering systems and ownership policy of the company’s owner, the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The company, created through the merger of Kera Corporation and the Finnish Guarantee Board, has now been in operation for five years. It can be said that Finnvera’s operations have become established; thus, there are prerequisites for an extensive and comprehensive evaluation of Finnvera’s activities. The evaluation can be seen as one element in the overall reform of the government’s specialised financing operations, started in the late 1990s. A corresponding evaluation was conducted a year ago on the operation of State-owned venture capital investors.

According to Markku Mäkinen, Finnvera’s Managing Director, the evaluation met the expectations set for it. Drawn up in an expert manner, it encompasses all sectors of Finnvera’s operations in sufficient detail. 'The timing is also excellent, since Finnvera is about to start a long-term planning project during which Finnvera’s vision and strategy will be defined until the year 2010. In addition, the evaluation has a strong link with the company’s management and planning systems. A good example is the quality system, which has been used at Finnvera since the foundation of the company.'

At this stage, Finnvera does not take a stand on the conclusions and proposals for development presented in the evaluation report. Implementation of some of these proposals would require amendments to the legislation governing Finnvera, or decisions from the company’s owner. Some of the recommendations could be implemented through the company’s own decisions. However, the starting point is that the report will be reviewed as a whole, and agreement on further measures will be reached together between the owner, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Finnvera.

'Seen as a whole, the report shows that during its first five years Finnvera, as a specialised financing body supplementing the market, has been able to meet the expectations set for the company as concerns the promotion of new enterprise, SMEs, exports and internationalisation and the implementation of the government’s regional policy goals. The evaluation will certainly give us new perspectives for developing our operations in future,' Markku Mäkinen sums up the report.

For further information:

Markku Mäkinen, Managing Director, tel. +358 20 460 7321.

Finnvera Plc: an international evaluation.
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Publications (1/2004)