Article in Kauppalehti 5.8.2026
A year ago in April, on a hot tropical day, Heli Helskyaho, CEO of Miracle Finland, which specialises in data and AI solutions , was sitting in a cool, air-conditioned taxi on the way to Singapore airport with her son Matias. Behind them was a trip to get to know the country.
“We were about to go back to Finland, and we felt almost sad, because we had to say goodbye to the city. It felt like I was leaving home,” Helskyaho says.
A few months after the emotional taxi ride, the decision to establish an office in Singapore had been sealed and practical matters had been set in motion. The official birthday of the subsidiary was deliberately chosen as July 1, when the country celebrates Armed Forces Day.
Employees were easy to find,” says Helskyaho. In addition, the country is an entrepreneur-friendly place with a long-standing focus on attracting foreign entrepreneurs to the country. Bureaucracy is minimal, and you can get by with official matters in English. The education culture supports companies.
“Here, the state and companies encourage continuous competence development in a completely different way than in Finland. In my opinion, learning new things and updating knowledge are directly linked to employment and career development,” Helskyaho says.
With the expansion into Asia, Miracle has renewed its recruitment strategy. Now the company is focusing more strongly on training junior-level experts internally. He also emphasises the importance of flexibility in the labour market for companies. In Finland, excessive protection of workers can slow down productivity.
“Companies do hold on to good experts. I don’t think any company lays off skilled employees,” he says.
According to Helskyaho, success in Asia also requires physical presence. Technologies or relationships are not built with Zooms. Although Asia has become an important growth platform for Miracle, Finland will continue to be a key operating country. The majority of the personnel work in Finland.
Read the full article Kauppalehti
📸 Milla Kantola