Helsinki, Finland: 2003
When Nokia was formed in 1967, the firm had nothing to do with mobile telephones. Half of its business involved making electrical cables; a quarter making tires and rubber footwear; the rest was paper production. Two-thirds of its products were sold in Finland. In the late ’80s, the company decided to concentrate on technology, with such products as TV sets and personal computers. The Nordic countries had become early pioneers in a new technology called cellular phones and Nokia moved into that market. By the mid-’90s, the company had sold off its rubber, paper, TV and computer businesses in order to concentrate on mobile phones and infrastructure. It was a smart choice. Globalization opened up world markets to successful exporters, mobile phones boomed, and the company now has a 38% share of the world cell-phone market. Its success both reflects and helped propel the digital revolution in Europe. Last year, Nokia had sales of €30 billion with profits of €3.4 billion. Its market capitalization is €70 billion, and it makes almost all of its money outside Finland.