Finland's "The Shortcut" and my enlightened migration

Tales under the cat tree

Ep. 6: Finland's "The Shortcut" and my enlightened migration

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Ep. 6: Finland's "The Shortcut" and my enlightened migration

An interview with the CEO of The Shortcut organization in Finland and recounting my own path to enlightened migration

Duleepa Wijayawardhana

Jun 09, 2025

Transcript

I feel that I have been a migrant, immigrant or foreigner most of my life. They are labels that get attached to me quite easily, I often haven't looked the same as those who make up the majority and in at least for the first 20 years of my life and the latter decade, it feels also that I don't speak the same language.

That being said, I feel, and I certainly hope people who know me would agree, that I have been a positive force in any society I have lived in. Immigration is a very loaded topic these days. My own country of Canada and the country I live in, Finland, are grappling with different aspects of immigration. Either not having enough, having too much, not having the resources to have more or arguing about what kind of immigrant or foreign worker you need to make your society strong.

I think it's a fairly well understood example that Canada has been for the most part successful in how much immigrants such as myself have contributed to the economy. Finland is smaller, aging and more homogenous. Recently I became a board member of The Shortcut, an organization tackling the integration of foreign talent into Finland and creating the space for foreign entrepreneurship to blossom as part of the Finnish Startup Community.

Part 1: Interview with Riikka Loisamo, CEO, The Shortcut

Riikka Loisamo, CEO, The Shortcut. Photo courtesy of Riikka Loisamo.

Hear about the mission and the programs for The Shortcut in Finland and how organizations like The Shortcut are changing the mentality that Finland can be a place where foreign-born talent can thrive as entrepreneurs.