Innovation loans

• Businesses across Norway in all industries. We do not prioritise traditional retail, personal services, rental businesses, tradespeople or other businesses that mainly serve a local or regional market.
• Businesses located within the regional policy area can apply for top-up financing for investments in buildings, machinery and equipment. Talk to one of our advisers to find out whether this could be an option for your business.
• Businesses and projects focused on innovation, growth and internationalisation.
• Companies that uphold the principles of responsible business conduct and have guidelines for ethics and corporate social responsibility.

For innovation loans with an EIF guarantee:

Innovation loans are covered by our agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF), which aims to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. This partnership enables us to offer larger loans on better terms to businesses that meet the criteria for an EIF guarantee.

Innovation loans backed by an EIF guarantee are available to SMEs and businesses defined as small mid-caps (i.e. businesses with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees). Larger businesses are not eligible for innovation loans backed by an EIF guarantee.

To qualify for an innovation loan with an EIF guarantee, your project must meet at least one of the EIF's innovation or digitalisation criteria as well as our standard criteria.

Established companies can use innovation loans to strengthen their capital base when they need funding for growth and/or international expansion.

Innovation loans can finance promising transformation projects that aim to create a lasting, sustainable basis for operations. These loans are available to businesses that we believe can maintain a sound basis for operations over time and have a strong prospect of successfully completing the transformation.

You can use innovation loans to finance both investments and acquisitions. This requires a sound commercial and strategic rationale, as well as sufficient collateral for the acquisition. In such cases, the primary focus must be on your company's future development.

Please note that we offer green growth loans to Norwegian companies making climate-friendly investments.

• Development and investment projects that are commercially viable and deliver economic benefits to society.
• As a general rule, projects must demonstrate innovation at national or international level.

We cannot provide new loans for projects that started before we received a written funding application. You cannot use the loan to cover ordinary operating costs or previous losses. Innovation loans are not restricted to specific purposes, but we do not fund ongoing operating expenses.

In the current situation, we may consider providing additional funding for ongoing projects that we have already helped finance. All applications are subject to our standard credit assessment.

The terms for innovation loans with and without an EIF guarantee differ:

Funding amount and terms without an EIF guarantee

Innovation loans can form part of a comprehensive financing solution alongside our low-risk loans or grant schemes. You can also use them as a standalone option combined with financing from a local bank. By working with a local bank, you can access more credit, as we and the bank can go a little further together.

We normally disburse the loan once you have completed the project and an auditor has verified the costs incurred. We may agree to partial payments when you reach specific milestones or to an advance payment, depending on your case.

• Nominal interest rate: 7.95% (for new loans from 12 May 2026 and existing loans from 10 July 2026)
• Establishment fee: 0.5 per cent
• Term: Normally up to 15 years
• Repayment schedule: Tailored to the type of project. You may qualify for an interest-free and repayment-free period after completing the project.
• Financing share: Normally up to 50% of your company's capital requirements. If your project requires additional financing, we will assess this on a case-by-case basis.

Funding amount and terms with an EIF guarantee

Loan amount: Up to EUR 2 million per loan transaction. Your company may receive multiple loans with an EIF guarantee if each loan has a separate and independent cost basis. The maximum total lending commitment for loans with an EIF guarantee is EUR 7.5 million.

• Current interest rate: The nominal interest rate for innovation loans with an EIF guarantee is capped at 7.61% (for new loans from 12 May 2026 and existing loans from 10 July 2026)
• Loan term: The maximum term is 10 years. Loans to strengthen your capital base normally have a term of up to 5 years.
• Repayment profile: Flexible repayment structure, with interest-only periods available for up to the full term of the loan.
• Financing share: Normally up to 50 per cent of your company's capital requirements.

In addition to meeting our standard criteria, innovation loans with an EIF guarantee must meet at least one of the EIF's criteria for Innovation (1) or Digitalisation (2).

(1) Innovation criteria

1. You confirm that you will use the funding applied for to:

• investing in the production, development or implementation of new or significantly improved:
  • products, processes or services, or
  • production or delivery methods, or 
  • organisational or process innovation (including innovative business models), where there is a risk of technological, industrial or commercial failure, as confirmed by an external expert assessment, or
• primarily investing in intangible assets (including IPR), particularly where our internal guidelines do not assign such assets any collateral value.

2. The borrower is a high-growth company that has been operating in the market for less than 10 years since its first commercial sale and has achieved average annual organic growth of more than 20 per cent in either employee numbers or turnover over a three-year period, with at least 10 employees at the start of the observation period.

3. The borrower must have significant innovation potential or be a research- and innovation-intensive company by meeting at least one of the following criteria:

• The company's annual research and innovation costs are equal to or greater than 20 per cent of the loan amount, as shown in the borrower's latest annual accounts, provided that the company confirms an increase in research and innovation costs equivalent to at least the loan amount.
• The company confirms that it will use at least 80 per cent of the loan amount for research and innovation activities, as set out in its business plan, and the remaining amount for costs that enable these activities.
• Your company has received grants, loans or financial guarantees from EU research and innovation programmes within the past 36 months, provided that the EIF-guaranteed loan does not cover the same costs.
• Your company has received a research, development or innovation award from an EU institution or body within the past 36 months.
• Your company has registered at least one technology right (such as a patent, design right, trade mark, semiconductor product topography, supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products or other products eligible for such certificates, plant breeders' right or software copyright) within the past 36 months, and the loan transaction will directly or indirectly support the exploitation of that right.
• The borrower has received investment within the past 36 months from a venture capital investor or a business angel who is a member of a business angel network; or such a venture capital investor or business angel is already a shareholder in the company when it applies for the loan.
• The company requires risk capital exceeding 50 per cent of its average annual turnover over the previous five years, based on a business plan aimed at introducing a new product or entering a new geographical market.
• The company's research and innovation costs account for at least 10 per cent of its total operating costs in at least one of the past three years. For start-ups with no financial history, this applies to the accounts for the current year, as verified by an external auditor.
• The borrower is a small mid-cap company (not an SME and with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees) whose research and innovation costs account for:
  • at least 15 per cent of total operating costs in at least one of the previous three financial years, or
  • at least 10 per cent of total operating costs in the three preceding financial years.
• Your company has incurred research and innovation costs during the past 36 months as part of a general EU-approved support scheme designed to encourage companies to increase their investment in research and innovation, provided that:
  • the transaction covers incremental costs as set out in the company's business plan, and
  • the loan does not cover the same costs as those previously supported.
• Within the past 36 months, an EU institution or organisation has designated you as an innovative company, and we can verify this. The purpose of the loan is to maintain and further develop your business activities.

(2) Digitalisation criteria

1. The borrower confirms that they will use the funding for at least one of the following purposes:

• Innovative business models: Developing new business models by adopting and integrating digital technologies (adding services to existing products or replacing products with services)
• Logistics management: Introduce or improve digital collaboration with suppliers through measures such as sharing business data, managing and monitoring inventory, enhancing supplier collaboration, improving services and including business partners in integrated supply chains.
• Product/service innovation: Improve existing products or services by adopting or integrating digital technology, and/or use or integrate digital technologies to develop new products and services and support the transition to carbon neutrality.
• Customer service: Integrate and use digital technology in customer communications, including improved systems for customer feedback and enhanced delivery capabilities.
• Business development: Business development and expansion of your customer base by entering new markets, geographical areas or customer segments through the adoption or integration of digital technologies.
• Data security and protection: Improve data security or operational stability against threats such as data breaches, and strengthen data protection and privacy.
• Internal processes: Improve business processes by integrating innovative 'deep technologies' such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, drones, robotics, biotechnology, photonics, advanced materials and quantum computing into your business.
• Digital competence, education and training: Training and further development of employees' digital skills, recruiting new employees with digital skills, and developing leadership and business expertise in a digital world.
• Digital company: Support for service providers that enable and support the digitalisation of value chains, provided that they focus primarily on the delivery and adoption of digital products and services.