Elina Voipio Email & Phone Number

Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

I am responsible for all West Africa (Ghana and Ivory Coast) focused projects under Fairtrade Finland's DONUTS (Dignified Opportunities Nurtuned through Trade and Sustainability) Programme implemented in 2022-2025. These projects focus on child labour eradication, improved livelihoods and living income, dynamic agroforestry and climate smart cropping systems in the cocoa sector farming communities. My role includes project planning and management, continuous development of programme management practices, management of key partnerships, capacity building of partners, reporting and accountability towards donors.

Helsinki / Southern Africa

SAIS Programme is a regional initiative that strengthens innovation ecosystems and promotes cross-border collaboration between innovation actors in Southern Africa. The Programme focuses early-stage enterprises, young entrepreneurs, and innovations that serve socially or economically disadvantaged populations. I was responsible for coordinating the Southern Africa Innovation Collective network of innovation hubs, and the BOOSTUP startup support programme. This included the rollout of activities, budgeting, and reporting. Additionally, I supported the delivery of the SAIS Soft Landing Platform to enhance market access regionally.

Lusaka, Zambia

Accelerated Growth for MSMEs (AGS) Programme is a bilateral development programme funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Finland. AGS contributes to sustainable job growth in Zambia by increasing the competitiveness of micro, small and medium sized enterprises. My role is versatile with input into most key activities including business training, acceleration, and market access services. I manage Monitoring, Evaluation (M&E) and Communications activities in the team. My tasks include e.g. developing an M&E Process Manual, implementing data collection, coordinating the development of a digital M&E platform, and the AGS website. I write and produce knowledge products, sector overviews and market studies, developed a variety of promotional materials, and managed large-scale events. I recruited a Communications Intern and manage her work. This position has given me excellent skills for practical development work with fieldwork in three Zambian provinces. I have been particularly active in promoting the Human Rights Based Approach and gender mainstreaming in all work that we do as a programme.

Belgrade

The Niras Young Professional Academy (NYPA) is a 2-year programme combining practical work and training on consulting, tendering, and project management in international development. I was deployed in six countries across Europe and Africa: Serbia, Namibia, Zambia, Germany, Denmark, and Finland. I did extensive tendering work for GIZ, KfW, Danida, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, MFA Finland, and other donors. My work focused on economic development, entrepreneurship, innovation and fund management, with exposure to TVET, biodiversity, agriculture, and other topics. I gained comprehensive experience in recruitment and head hunting. I conducted research projects on a) entrepreneurial ecosystems in SADC region; b) engaging the private sector in development; and c) best practices in fund management. I spent 3,5 months as part of the SAIS 2 (Southern African Innovation Support) Programme team in Namibia. I coordinated capacity building programmes for SAIS grantees, played a key role in implementing an incubation bootcamp for 30 Southern African entrepreneurs in Helsinki, and co-hosted a related SLUSH side event.

Duara Travels is a for-profit start-up with a mission to create social impact by redirecting tourism income in developing countries into rural areas. I was responsible for operations in emerging markets. I managed the scaling of the host family network, recruiting, training and communicating with local stakeholders. My work involved partnership building, fieldwork in rural areas, copy writing, customer front, concept development, formulating legal agreements and funding applications, as well asmarketing and social media. I took part in two start-up acceleration programmes (Summer of Startups at Aalto University and Cherry on Top by Frantic).

Copenhagen Area, Denmark

I coordinated operations and logistics for the 10 largest Finnish B2B customers in the Consumer Product Division. I communicated and coordinated between supply planning, forecasting, warehouses, credit control and customers to ensure prompt order flows, high service levels and product availability, as well as correct campaigns, pricing and reclamation processes. SAP and Excel were my primary tools. I was involved with developing existing processes, customer segmentation projects and long-term cooperation models together with clients.

Helsinki Area, Finland

My master thesis dealt with the drivers and barriers of socially sustainable organisational purchasing in the retail industry. It was done in cooperation and on commission from Tokmanni, including interviews with their management and professional purchasing staff. The process increased my expertise in managing human rights, environmental responsibility and complying with CSR standards in complex supply chains. I worked closely with the UN Global Compact and BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative). In addition, I gained both practical and academic understanding on managing change and employee motivation.

Helsinki Area, Finland

Impact Iglu was a Aalto University based community for impact-driven entrepreneurs with focus on solutions targeting emerging markets. The purpose was to share knowledge, build partnerships, network and ideate among founders and students. My role focused on communication, community building and event management, including innovation challenge workshops, panel discussions, etc.

Helsinki Area, Finland

My responsibilities included coordinating development cooperation projects under the Fund for Local Cooperation, an on-site assessment of a sustainable tourism project in Sri Lanka, assisting the Ambassador in diplomatic meetings, official reporting, consular information services, updating websites and secretarial tasks. Afterwards, I did a second project assessment in Sri Lanka as an external consultant in March 2015. This work experience deepened my knowledge on diplomacy, foreign relations and development cooperation policies under MFA Finland.

Geneva Area, Switzerland

At the Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva, I substituted diplomats in meetings in trade-related international organisations (WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD) and EU-coordination meetings. I wrote reports to different Finnish ministries, produced articles for external and internal MFA medias and organized outreach events. The internship gave me a good understanding of global trade agreements and decision making in the UN and international organisations.

Helsinki Area, Finland

I was involved in organizing two large delegation trips to East and Southern Africa for Finnish politicians, celebrities and bureaucrats. I wrote articles, managed social media, did website administration and secretarial tasks.

Helsinki Area, Finland

Espoo, Finland

Helsinki Area, Finland

Master'S Degree, Creative Sustainability (School Of Business And Economics)

The Creative Sustainability major studies focused on creating innovative ways to deal with wicked global sustainability issues. We used.

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Marketing

International Exchange Studies

International Baccalaureate (Ib), 42/45