"Finland doesn't need more competitiveness — it needs the courage to renew market economy"

Jari, there's a lot of talk about economic growth in Finland right now. What do you think is missing from the conversation?

"Growth itself is not the problem. The problem is where we seek it. We operate on a model where companies follow markets instead of leading them. Old ways of doing things are not changing the world fast enough. Six of the nine planetary boundaries that safeguard the viability of life on Earth have already been crossed.

Many people can point to what's wrong, but few have solutions to offer. We should be spending more time and energy developing solutions and testing new kinds of operating models."

What should we be doing differently than before?

"We need to dare to think in new ways. Finland shouldn't try to be the best at traditional market economy. That game is already lost — there are far bigger players involved.

Instead, Finland can be a pioneer in the impact economy — a new kind of market economy where the goal of business is to increase the wellbeing of both people and nature.

It sounds ambitious, but not impossible. We have the capabilities the impact economy requires: education, research, the ability to develop innovations, and experience in internationalisation.

Finland has relatively little bold, growth-oriented investment capital compared to many other countries. We also have gaps in our commercialisation capabilities. At Brande, we are currently working to address these challenges. The scale is still small, but the direction is right and the solutions are scalable."

Companies should see themselves more as shapers of markets than they currently do. What specifically needs to change in the thinking?

"Right now, companies follow markets and respond to demand instead of guiding it. An impact company operates differently. Its business is built on solving systemic problems: it starts with changing thinking, which leads to action and ultimately to impact.

The impact economy holds hundreds of billions of euros in market potential for Finnish companies. Life on Earth is built on water, food, health and nature. If we continue to exploit these resources unsustainably, we will create even greater global challenges than we face today. But if we decide — for example, instead of quarrying virgin rock — to recycle mineral aggregates, we can solve significant problems while simultaneously creating new business and value."

That sounds like a major shift. Is Finland ready for it?

"Not entirely, but it doesn't need to be. One of our problems is that we want to be certain something will work before we try it. In a complex world, certainty can only come through experimentation. So rather than striving for perfection, we need the courage to be bold and run tests."

We have long known that we should be doing things differently. Yet the will to change operating models has not been strong enough.

What is the biggest obstacle to change?

"In conversations with leaders, I've noticed that no one is willing to pay for the sustainability transition. Business decisions are always made with money and quick results first. That slows down change and prevents better business from being built.

The impact economy does not mean sacrificing returns — quite the opposite. In the impact economy, the goal is both impact and financial return. When you solve problems that are critical for the world, you create business whose value is greater and more durable than in the traditional market economy model."

What will determine whether this kind of change succeeds?

"Collaboration. It matters more than competitiveness. Individual companies don't build new markets — they emerge in networks involving businesses, public actors, researchers and other people. As I mentioned earlier, Finland already has a great deal of capability that we're not fully leveraging."

You talk about Finland, but is this a global challenge?

"This is not just Finland's challenge — it's Europe's. We have strong and critical capabilities, but old structures don't bend easily to new ways of doing things. Finland now has an opportunity to show the whole world that prosperity and impact are not opposites. We are a small country, and we can move fast. But our gaze needs to reach much further and much wider."

Why does this matter to you personally?

"Over the last 150 years, humanity has created its greatest challenges through actions that have been beneficial in the short term but damaging in the long run. We have long known that we should be doing things differently. Yet the will to change operating models has not been strong enough. That is frustrating, because if we acted differently, everyone would win — people, society, nature, the environment and the economy would all be better off. At Brande, we want to spark new thinking and the will to do things differently."

What would you like every reader to remember about the impact economy?

"It's important to dare to think boldly. Finland is a small country, but that is precisely our opportunity: we can head in a different direction from many others and act as trailblazers.

The other thing is: don't wait for the perfect plan — the most important thing is to get started. Doing teaches you more than waiting."

The Ahaa article series features visionary innovators who are helping to build a sustainable future.