Jyrki Koskelo

Jyrki Koskelo, Member Of The Supervisory Board, Gulf Marine Services PLC (UK), Senior Advisor, Chairman, Invest Solar Africa Pty (Botswana), Senior Advisor, Sofala Partners (UK), Member of the Supervisory Board, FIBank (Bulgaria), Member of the Board of Directors, Expobank CZ a.s. (Prague, Czech Republic), Austria. Jyrki Koskelo, an Emerging Market specialist, Senior Advisor and Member of Supervisory Boards, focused on ESG compatible development and growth through technology and innovative financial solutions. Jyrki Koskelo joined IFC ( International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) in 1987 as a junior Investment officer and departed the organization as a Vice President responsible for Global Investment Operations in 2011. During the course of his career at IFC, the organization grew from less than $1 bn in investments globally to around $20 billion; a trend which highlights the role of private sector in driving the economic development in emerging markets. Jyrki sponsored IFC’s first Gender focused, highly successful investment programs to facilitate equal opportunities for women in emerging markets, multi billion dollar global trade programs providing opportunities for emerging market banks to pay a critical role in supporting trade and very large joint stabilization efforts for emerging market banks after Lehman Crisis undermined the global confidence in finance. A key driver in acceleration of global gender and geographic equality are technology based solutions which allow us to ‘skip a generation’ as evidence by impact of mobile telephony in emerging markets. The emerging value of data and knowledge of end users is critical not only for developed markets but even more critical for disadvantaged groups globally as data analysis is the only way of establishing risk parameters for access to finance. Prior to joining IFC, Jyrki Koskelo was a successful entrepreneur in the Middle East and pioneered first commercial uses of GPS technology for civilian purposes. After IFC, he has served as a Board member and a Senior Advisor in several banks and companies in Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. He is increasingly active in sponsoring higher education for disadvantaged but talented Africans as a key component facilitating leapfrogging development. The Edu4Talent program aims to link student counseling on jobs and providing extra courses in digital needs of future already at school, funding of higher education with sponsorships with CSR programs of private sector and new cost effective evolving virtual university education.