Entrepreneurs met the Crown Prince at our offices

‘I am both excited and concerned about Norway’s capacity for transformation,’ said our CEO, Håkon Haugli, in his welcome address.

During 'Scale-up Day', Crown Prince Haakon, members of the Norwegian parliament and representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries heard from a range of entrepreneurs and investors, including Trond Riiber Knutsen and Camilla Dybendahl.

They explained that Norwegian start-ups lack the venture capital they need to compete internationally.

– The warning lights are flashing

‘Norway succeeds in many areas, but does not create major listed growth companies,’ Haugli said in her presentation.

Over the past ten years, the number of high growth companies in Norway has doubled from 3,000 to 6,000, according to Samfunnsøkonomisk Analyse. At the same time, only two of the 30 largest companies in the Nordic region are Norwegian.

'We are in a much stronger position when it comes to entrepreneurs and growth companies than we were ten years ago,' Haugli said.

'But the warning lights are flashing. Mario Draghi has warned Europe that we are lagging far behind the US and China. And Norway is lagging behind Europe.'

Since 2010, Norway has had one of the lowest productivity growth rates in the OECD.

'We urgently need to do something about this,' Haugli said.

National accelerator

The Crown Prince and the startup community heard that we have proposed a national 'accelerator' for growth companies, together with the Research Council of Norway, Siva and Investinor.

‘The public sector cannot solve everything, but we must create the best possible conditions for businesses to grow in Norway,’ said Haugli.

– That is why we have proposed a national accelerator programme modelled on the European Innovation Council (EIC).

The accelerator will support 30 companies each year. It will coordinate funding and support from research through to stock market listing.

'We know a great deal about what it takes to succeed. It comes down to the three Cs: competence, capital and customers. The accelerator will help Norwegian growth companies with exactly that,' Haugli concluded.