Learning from Finland: NGO Perspectives on Empowering Immigrants with Financial Capability

This perspective paper draws on field notes and practitioner voices to explore how NGO professionals in Finland understand and support financial capability among immigrant populations. Financial capability—encompassing knowledge and access to financial tools—is essential for immigrant integration and stability. Based on semi-structured interviews with NGO professionals in two major cities in Finland, this paper offers reflections on structural and relational barriers immigrants face when navigating Finland’s financial and welfare systems. Themes that emerged from the five interviews include: (1) language and literacy barriers; (2) gendered financial dependence; (3) systemic barriers to inclusion; (4) digital financial literacy needs; (5) NGOs as trusted, accessible supports; and (6) strength-based approaches that recognize immigrants as resourceful agents. These insights underscore the value of culturally responsive, community-embedded approaches and reveal how financial vulnerability is shaped not only by individual knowledge but also by institutional and social contexts. By centering practitioner perspectives, the paper informs more inclusive financial capability interventions.