A region with bold ambitions
‘Our customers work with an incredibly broad and varied range of products and services. They range from small local food producers to major large-scale initiatives in the energy and healthcare industries,’ says Kristin Willoch Haugen.
She heads our largest regional office, Innovation Norway East, which covers the four counties of Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold – home to more than 35 per cent of Norway's population. We have offices in Oslo, Drammen and Sarpsborg in this region.
«We receive a steady stream of enquiries from truly impressive companies. Seeing the innovation, willingness to take risks and drive that our customers represent gives us real hope for the future.»
Successful collaboration
Haugen highlights the healthcare sector in particular as an area where the region has a clear strength.
'In cancer research, for example, we have world-class centres of expertise. This knowledge and expertise can help create important business opportunities and initiatives in the health industry,' says Haugen.
To deliver projects in this field, we work with several key clusters, including Oslo Cancer Cluster, Norway Health Tech and The Life Science Cluster, as well as incubators such as Aleap, ShareLab and Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.
‘The pharmaceutical industry is highly productive, and Norway stands to benefit from creating the right conditions for existing businesses to remain in the region and for more Norwegian flagship companies to emerge. This is an area with significant potential for value creation and exports,’ says Haugen.
She has seen time and again how collaboration between multiple stakeholders is the key to success.
– This is reflected in communities such as Startuplab and research parks, which make a major contribution to innovation. We are fortunate to have excellent incubators and innovation and competence hubs in the region, and the companies that emerge from these communities are often well suited to our services and funding opportunities.
Where bright minds meet
A large proportion of Norwegian businesses are based in Oslo and the former Viken region. This creates important conditions for start-ups to grow, while keeping our regional office busy and working at a fast pace, says Haugen.
The high concentration of businesses attracts expertise to the area, and several major technology companies have their headquarters here. Haugen is seeing a clear increase in activity in artificial intelligence (AI).
‘We receive many exciting applications from companies working with AI. These often involve solutions that span several sectors, such as energy, healthcare and agriculture.’
Haugen also highlights the AI centres of expertise in Halden and Kongsberg.
«It is vital that our region has such strong artificial intelligence communities.»
The region also has strong business clusters in the circular economy, while the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås is a national hub for sustainability and bio-based industries. We support many companies in the region with promising innovation projects in climate, energy and the circular economy.
Driving international growth
All our regional offices focus on exports. At our Eastern Norway office, three internationalisation advisers support businesses in the region, alongside a dedicated InvestIN adviser. Part of our work involves advisory and introducing new markets to ambitious companies looking to grow internationally. Oso Hot Water is a good example. We have supported the company in exporting its smart, sustainable water heaters.
Our regional office also has several dedicated EU advisers who actively support companies applying for funding through the EU's various programmes. Onio AS, which is developing a new type of chip technology, is one of our customers that has successfully secured EU funding.
Exporting agricultural technology
Although the city shapes our work to some extent, this is also a major agricultural region. Haugen says the area is undergoing transformation and embracing new ideas.
«There is more innovation happening in Norwegian agriculture than most people realise. We are seeing many more sustainable solutions and new agricultural technologies.»
Our office recently helped Saga Robotics expand into the US market. The company is developing a laser robot that uses UV-C light to eliminate fungi, replacing the need for pesticides.
Our services are primarily for companies with innovative, sustainable and scalable projects.
'That is why it is so rewarding to see how much we can achieve for Norwegian businesses through grants and loans, competence-building programmes, networks, advisory and close dialogue with our customers and partners,' says Haugen.
She emphasises that the high volume of enquiries we receive at our regional office is encouraging. It shows that many people and businesses in the region have ambitions and want to contribute to future value creation in Norway.
‘We need people out there who dare to pursue their great ideas. They deserve our utmost respect!’