Latin America Strikes Finland: Highlights from Visit to Finland

Latin America Roadshow: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

Team Finland Latin America led a two-day roadshow in Turku and Vaasa, spotlighting current market trends and future prospects in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. 🇧🇷🇦🇷🇲🇽

The event featured presentations from the Finnish ambassadors of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, and Business Finland representatives, who shared insights on opportunities in the health, mining, marine, and technology sectors in Turku, and the energy sector in Vaasa. Finnish companies also shared their experiences of doing business in Latin America, offering valuable insights into the region's growing potential.

Finnish-Latin America Chamber of Commerce

🌐 The Finnish-Latin America Chamber of Commerce hosted a high-impact event in Helsinki, spotlighting the remarkable resilience and growth of Latin America and the Caribbean, and highlighting the vast market opportunities available for Finnish companies.

The event featured insights from Finnish ambassadors of the region, discussing opportunities in key sectors such as forestry, mining, energy, digitalization, and health, and the growing collaboration between Finnish and Latin American businesses.

Colombian Forestry Delegation

🇨🇴 The Finland-Colombia Matchmaking Event, brought together Mdetec, a key Colombian importer, with Finnish suppliers eager to expand their presence and break into the Colombian market. Along with with representatives from Business Finland and the Embassy of Finland in Colombia, Finnish companies such as JAK-Metalli Oy, Ecomond, PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, and Finnvera were present, setting the stage for exciting future collaborations.

We also had the opportunity to attend FinnMETKO, one of Europe's leading forestry fairs that was organized in Jämsä, Finland. At FinnMETKO, Kesla Oyj impressed us with their latest innovation: "ForExt," a fire-fighting truck with an organic liquid agent, already available in Colombia! Ponsse also showcased their machinery, which is already at work in Colombian forests.

Brazilian Health Delegation

🇧🇷 Team Finland Brazil's advisors had the pleasure of joining Prima Qualitá Saúde on a visit to Finland for a series of meetings with Finnish companies offering solutions for the healthcare sector. They also hosted an event to explore the current landscape of Brazil's healthcare sector, bringing together local businesses, R&D institutions, and regional business development agencies.

While the healthcare systems in Brazil and Finland differ in many aspects, Finnish innovations show significant potential to address challenges in Brazil, driving efficiency gains, advancing digitalization, and enhancing the quality of healthcare services.

Team Finland Day 2024

🇫🇮 Team Finland Latin America participated in Team Finland Day 2024, an annual event that brings together representatives from over 70 countries. The event provided a platform for Finnish businesses to connect directly with international experts and Finnish ambassadors from the Latin American and Caribbean regions.

We were thrilled to offer tailored insights into the burgeoning markets within the vibrant region of Latin America, highlighting sectors such as energy, forestry, mining and digitalization. With Finnish exports to the region reaching €9.7 billion in the past five years, the potential for growth and collaboration continues to flourish.

Building a Sustainable Future: Finland and the Andean Region

This event, organized by Team Finland's representatives from the Andean Region, provided an excellent opportunity to share insights into the current business landscapes of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, and the Dominican Republic with Finnish companies interested in exploring business opportunities in this dynamic region. 🇨🇴🇵🇪🇵🇦🇩🇴🇪🇨

We had the honor of hearing directly from Finnish Ambassadors in Bogotá and Lima: Antti Kaski and Antti Rytövuori, alongside Business Finland representatives who shared valuable perspectives on sustainable opportunities in the Andean region. A key highlight was the engaging panel discussion, where we were fortunate to have panelists from Business Finland , Lamor , and Planmed share their successful business models and experiences operating in the region.

Chilean Construction Delegation

🇨🇱 The Chilean Construction Delegation visited several key facilities in Finland to explore sustainable construction solutions. The delegation, organized by Cámara Chilena de la Construcción , toured sites including Tuusulan Monio with Kontio, where they experienced Finland’s innovative wood construction techniques.

The first day involved learning about Building 2030, a consortium of Aalto University and 21 companies, focused on preparing the construction industry for future challenges through digitalization and innovative practices. The second day featured a tour of Lumon ’s glass factory, showcasing their energy-efficient balcony glazing technology, followed by a visit to Peikko Group Corporation , which highlighted their use of recycled steel in construction. The day concluded with a stop at Oy Lunawood Ltd , a pioneer in sustainable wood products.

Regional Engagement: Meetings and Site Visits

Exploring the Future of Renewables at Neste Headquarters

Team Finland Latin America visited Neste 's headquarters in Espoo, where they had the opportunity to meet with key company representatives. 🚛 🛬 🌏

The delegation was impressed to learn more about how Neste transforms low-quality raw materials into high-quality renewable solutions. With an incredible 25% of their workforce dedicated to R&D, their relentless commitment to innovation is driving the expansion of renewable and recycled raw materials.

Exploring the Future of Waste Solutions at MariMatic's R&D Center

Team Finland Latin America visited the R&D center of MariMatic , a Finnish pioneer in circular economy that is leading the shift from traditional waste collection to innovative automated systems. ♻️💡

The team met with key representatives to learn more about MariMatic’s two key products—Taifun for the food industry and MetroTaifun for urban waste transport—which are used in over 1,500 systems worldwide, reducing environmental impact and improving efficiency. The visit inspired new ideas on how these innovations could enhance waste management systems across Latin America.

Exploring Future-Driven Solutions with SITRA

Team Finland Colombia met with SITRA to explore potential collaborations in the Andean Region and to coordinate their participation in COP-16, which will take place from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia.

Sitra will also be organizing the World Circular Economy Forum in São Paulo, Brazil, in May 2025, further strengthening ties between Finland and Latin America in the field of sustainability.

Exploring Advanced Forestry Solutions at Ponsse Academy

A delegation of Paraguayan directors and executives from the education sector visited the Ponsse Academy facilities in Vieremä to learn about the cutting-edge simulator technology and the various models offered by the company. 🚜🌲

Beyond training, the group received an in-depth overview of Ponsse’s latest harvesting innovations and got a firsthand look at the company’s rich history, manufacturing processes, and its world-class maintenance and spare parts center.