Finnish Business Group - FBG
	FBC story has a grand starting year - Millennium - year 2000. The founder of the Finnish Business Group FBG was Finland Ambassador to UAE - Mr Risto Rekola. FBG was then headed as an unregistered association by the Embassy for many years answering to the ever growing demand for a forum to discuss the business matters in the UAE.

Finnish Business Council - FBC

The leadership of Group - later to become Council - was ‘privatised’. The chairmanship was handed over to the existing Finnish business community. Architect Mr Pekka Rautimo was then elected as the FBC Chairman, with the prime objective to register FBC with Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, DCCI, and to prepare the constitution of FBC. Finnish Business Council saw daylight in 2004 and the first registration with DCCI on the same year FBC being the 29th council to register. Today there are more than 40-registered business councils and chambers in the UAE. By the time Finnish community in the UAE has been steadily growing from a few hundred to the present 850 Finns in the UAE.

FBC Administration Opens

On May 2007 a new gear for FBC was switched on as the first Head of Business Development was hired. This coordinator’s main objective was to set up the administration, public frame, image and social platform for FBC to order increase awareness of the council as well as better to serve the growing Finnish community – both business and social - in the UAE. The administrative daily routines along the future development of the FBC include the collection and response to the memberships requests, editing of the FinnBIZ e-newsletter, answering to the various business related questions and updating and developing the web site. To create good relations with the fellow Business Councils, Trade organisations and companies as well as widening the awareness of the Council among the Finns in the area is a daily task. The FBC first administrative post was held - by architect Ms Christina Suomi followed by Ms Heli Kemppainen. Presently the position is held by Ms Liisa Sateri who in turn is the first FBC Business Director.