Mumbai, Finland is preparing a series of high-level roadshows across major Indian cities in 2026 to showcase circular-economy business models, timed to coincide with India’s hosting of the next World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) in October of that year.
Speaking in Mumbai on Tuesday, Finland’s ambassador to India, Kimmo Lahdevirta, said the initiative would go beyond conventional waste-management narratives and focus on upstream opportunities in product design, extended lifespan and closed-loop supply chains.
“Different cities will have different sectoral emphasis,” Mr Lahdevirta told the Financial Times. “In Ahmedabad the spotlight will fall on textiles; in Bengaluru, on IT and electronics. The aim is to demonstrate tangible commercial value rather than purely regulatory compliance.”
India’s own estimates suggest its circular economy could reach a market size of $2tn by 2050 and generate 10mn jobs, though current policy emphasis remains heavily weighted towards downstream recycling and waste management.
Mika Sulkinoja, senior lead for international circular-economy programmes at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, argued that the bigger prize lies further up the value chain. “Global studies, including work by the UNDP, point to potential economic benefits of $4.5tn by 2030 from a full circular transition,” he said. “More than 70 per cent of CEOs now express active interest, driven by supply-chain resilience and cost efficiency as much as by sustainability mandates.”
A 20-company Finnish business delegation, including Nokia, Kone, Wärtsilä, Konecranes and Vaisala, accompanied Mr Lahdevirta to Mumbai this week for talks with Maharashtra government ministers and officials. The state, widely regarded as India’s industrial and financial powerhouse, was highlighted as a priority investment destination.
Mr Lahdevirta flagged renewable energy integration as a particular area of opportunity. “As India accelerates its renewable build-out, grid balancing and smart management become critical bottlenecks,” he noted. “Finnish companies already supply some of the most advanced solutions in load management, energy storage integration and predictive grid analytics.”
Shalini Goyal Bhalla, managing director of the International Council for Circular Economy, cautioned that large Indian corporates have yet to fully transmit circular principles to their small and medium-sized suppliers. “The policy conversation is still dominated by waste and recycling,” Ms Bhalla said. “Electronic waste is the next frontier. Until SMEs are brought into the loop, the transition will remain incomplete.”
The Finnish roadshows are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with detailed programmes to be announced early next year. Organisers say they aim to attract both Indian conglomerates and international investors scouting for scalable green-tech opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.
