Innovation loans

• Businesses across Norway in all industries. The scheme does not prioritise traditional retail, personal services, rental businesses, tradespeople or other businesses that mainly serve a local or regional market.
• Businesses located within the designated regional development area can apply for top-up financing for investments in buildings, machinery and equipment. Speak to one of our advisors to find out whether your business may be eligible.
• Businesses and projects characterised by 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 with an EIF guarantee are available to SMEs and companies defined as small mid-caps (i.e. companies with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees). Larger companies are not eligible for innovation loans with 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.

Innovation loans can be used to strengthen the capital base of established companies where the need for capital is driven by growth and/or international expansion.

Innovation loans can finance sound restructuring projects that aim to create a lasting, sustainable basis for operations. Restructuring loans are reserved for companies that are expected to have a viable basis for operations over time and where there is good reason to believe the restructuring will succeed.

Innovation loans can be used 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 the 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 grant new loans to projects that have started before we receive a written funding application. The loan cannot be used 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 extending funding for ongoing projects that we have already helped finance. All applications are subject to a 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. They can also be offered separately in combination with financing from a local bank. Working with a local bank can increase the credit available, as together we can go a little further.

The loan is normally disbursed once the project has been completed and the costs incurred have been verified by an auditor. Partial disbursements upon reaching agreed milestones or advance disbursement may be arranged on a case-by-case basis.

• Nominal interest rate: 8.20% (for new loans from 29 September 2026 and existing loans from 7 December 2026)
• Establishment fee: 0.5 per cent
• Term: Normally up to 15 years
• Repayment schedule: Tailored to the type of project. An interest-free and repayment-free period may be granted after the project has been completed.
• 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. Companies may receive multiple loans with an EIF guarantee if they have separate and independent cost bases. The maximum total exposure 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 7.86% (for new loans from 29 September 2026 and existing loans from 7 December 2026)
• Term: The maximum term is 10 years. Loans for strengthening the 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.

Innovation loans with an EIF guarantee must meet our standard criteria and at least one of the EIF's criteria for Innovation (1) or Digitalisation (2).

(1) Innovation criteria

1. The borrower confirms that the funding applied for will be used for:

• to invest 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 assessment from an external expert, 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 in the market for less than 10 years since its first commercial sale, has achieved average annual organic growth of more than 20 per cent in either employee numbers or turnover over a three-year period, and had 10 or more 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.
• The company has received a grant, loan or financial guarantee 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.
• The company has registered at least one technology right (such as a patent, design right, trade mark, semiconductor product topography right, 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 enable the company to exploit that right.
• The borrower has received an 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 startups without a financial track record, this applies to the accounts for the current year, as confirmed 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.
• The company has incurred research and innovation costs during the past 36 months, and these costs form part of a general support measure approved by the EU and designed to encourage companies to increase 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, the borrower has been designated an innovative company by an EU institution or organisation, and this can be verified by Innovation Norway. The purpose of the loan is to maintain and further develop the borrower's business activities.

(2) Digitalisation criteria

1. The borrower confirms that the funding will be used 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, inventory management and monitoring, supplier collaboration, service improvements and the inclusion of business partners in integrated supply chains.
• Product/service innovation: Improve existing products or services by adopting or integrating digital technology into them, and/or use or integrate digital technologies to develop new products and services and support the transition to carbon neutrality.
• Customer service: Integrating and using digital technology in customer communications, including improving systems for customer feedback and enhancing delivery capabilities.
• Business development: Business development and expansion of the customer base by entering new markets and geographical areas or reaching new customers 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: Improving business processes by integrating innovative 'deep technologies' such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, drones, robotics, biotechnology, photonics, advanced materials and quantum computing into the borrower's operations.
• Digital competence, education and training: Training and further development of employees' digital skills, recruitment of new employees with digital skills, and development of 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.