Almost two decades ago, Finland entered a horrible period of economic stress. Starting in 1990, despite a decade of investment in which the Finnish government made a concerted effort to refocus the nation towards high technology and modern industries, a global economic downturn caused Finland to enter a deep recession. From 1990 to 1993, GDP fell more than 10 percent, 400,000 jobs were lost, and unemployment rose from 3.5 percent to 20 percent.

It was, you can imagine, a time of considerable consternation for a country of only five million people.

However, in 1991, in the deepest trough of the depression, the very first standardised mobile phone call was completed in Helsinki. Within a few years, Finland began to recover and so did investment - growing at 10 percent a year throughout the 1990s. Not surprisingly, investment in research and development surpassed 25 percent in the last half of the decade.

In fact, most economists agree that the R&D investment made in the 1980s, combined with a continued focus on higher education in the 90s, is what allowed Finland to make such a startling recovery. As more emphasis was placed on government investment in universities and more companies invested in R&D, more opportunities for more of the country's population began cropping up. A foundation was laid that allowed for consistent, high-quality innovation, and it continues to this day.

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