UpCloud, a leading European cloud provider headquartered in Helsinki with global data centres, is known for delivering some of the world’s fastest cloud servers to businesses worldwide. When the company set out to upgrade its data centre hardware, it faced a challenge familiar to many growing technology firms: securing financing on favourable terms to support both innovation and sustainability.
Nordea has partnered with the European Investment Fund (EIF) for several years to strengthen the growth and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses in the Nordic region. The EIF guarantee helps companies like UpCloud access financing for projects that promote sustainability and innovation.
“For us, the EIF guarantee made a real difference. It enabled us to secure financing for our data centre hardware upgrade project on terms that would have been more challenging to obtain otherwise,” says Annukka Piirala, CFO of UpCloud. “This allowed us to accelerate our growth strategy by investing in next-generation infrastructure, which reduces our CO₂ emissions while providing top-of-the-market speed and performance to our customers.”
The EIF-backed investment helps us reduce our environmental impact and deliver on our sustainability promises to customers.
The financing supported a major hardware upgrade in UpCloud’s data centres, improving the quality and reliability of their cloud services. The new hardware is significantly more energy efficient, lowering energy consumption and cooling requirements. “Sustainability is increasingly important in our strategy and daily operations,” Annukka Piirala explains. “The EIF-backed investment helps us reduce our environmental impact and deliver on our sustainability promises to customers.”
With the EIF guarantee, UpCloud expanded its service portfolio, improved performance and strengthened its competitive position in the market. The guarantee also made it possible to invest in innovation and sustainability at a scale that supports both business growth and responsible operations. “Our customers value our commitment to sustainability, and the EIF guarantee has helped us deliver on that promise,” says Annukka Piirala.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) guarantee, backed by the European Commission’s InvestEU programme, helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access financing for projects that drive sustainability and innovation. With Nordea’s EIF guarantee, more Nordic businesses can benefit from improved access to capital, reduced financial risk’ and support for green and digital initiatives.
Whether you are mapping your first steps or executing a complex, multi-year strategy, sustainable transformation requires the right financial partner. We bring sector expertise, practical tools and financing solutions to help you move ahead with clarity and confidence.
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