Startup grant 2

In 2026, the budget for Startup grant 2 has been reduced by 60%. This means we must prioritise more strictly and reject more applications. Please read the scheme’s criteria carefully.

Companies that

• were incorporated as a limited company less than five years ago (sole proprietorships (ENK), general partnerships (ANS), partnerships with shared liability (DA) and similar entities are not eligible). Foreign applicants must have established a Norwegian limited company (AS) or a Norwegian-registered foreign enterprise (NUF) before the first disbursement.
• is a genuinely new business. The startup may be owned by a holding company that is more than five years old, provided the founders themselves own the holding company and the startup is a genuinely new business with the potential and ambition to become a scaleup. In this case, any aid must be granted as 'de minimis aid'.
• Please note that if a shareholder owns between 25% and 50% (a 'partner' under the SME definition), the company's business operations must be separate from those of that shareholder. The companies cannot share a chair and/or CEO, and the new company's business idea must be substantially different.

Subsidiaries in which an established business owns 50 per cent or more do not qualify.

You also have

• developed an initial solution that brings something significantly new to the market and can compete internationally
• market acceptance: external partners who are willing to share the risk with you as you further develop your product or service
• a challenging technology development journey ahead of you, with a robust IP strategy and a high degree of novelty
• tested your solution with potential customers and can confirm that the problem is worth solving and that customers are willing to pay for the solution
• defined specific activities to develop an initial version of the solution and test it further
• a good understanding of your competitors and alternative solutions, and a clear sense of your competitive advantages
• a team that can demonstrate basic knowledge, experience or understanding of the market you plan to enter
• have sufficient capital available to complete this phase, with your own funding at least matching the startup grant.

Startup grants will prioritise the startups most deserving of support that meet these criteria:

Impact

• Your company will create lasting value through commercial activity in Norway
• Your company has a realistic, long-term ambition for growth and business development (scaling up).
• Your company’s own products or solutions can compete internationally

Level of innovation

• The offering, product or service is substantially new and better than competing solutions. We may also consider new business models if they involve significant innovation and improvements compared with existing models.
• Developing your business idea involves significant innovation and associated technical risk. The innovation must be at an international level.

Ability to deliver

You must be able to demonstrate that your ability to deliver matches your ambitions by having

• Team/resources: We prioritise entrepreneurs who will build the business themselves. You must have a core team with a good understanding of the problem you aim to solve, existing competitors or alternatives to your solution, the market and its potential.
• Expertise: An overview of the expertise you need to build your business, and a plan for bringing that expertise on board.
• Market understanding: Develop your solution in collaboration with customers or user groups.
• Capital: A funding plan for both the phase you are applying for and your company’s future capital needs.

We prioritise businesses with innovative ideas that bring something significantly new to the market, and with the capability and ambition to compete internationally.

This means there are some ventures we cannot support. These include businesses that 'only' create a job for the founder ('lifestyle businesses'), hobby businesses (run in your spare time), or services already provided by the public sector (such as childcare, healthcare and elderly care).

We prioritise development and growth – not day-to-day operations. We therefore do not prioritise funding for conventional businesses entering well-functioning markets, but we can help fund the development of technology or new solutions that drive innovation and improve efficiency. Our funding must not distort competition.

Examples of areas where a comparable, well-functioning market already exists:

• traditional trade (including imports, agencies and e-commerce)
• trade services
• transport services
• financial services (banking/insurance)
• liberal professions (lawyers, doctors, dentists, writers, etc.)
• personal services, including alternative therapies, hairdressing, skincare and similar services
• standard training and consultancy services / business advisory
• traditional café and restaurant operations

In light of this, we do not fund entrepreneurs developing standalone apps, apps for existing solutions and functions, or apps that are easy to develop and copy. The same applies to digital marketplaces and communication platforms, as well as products and services with limited benefit to society.

Outstanding adverse credit records

If your company has outstanding payment defaults, you cannot apply for or receive a grant.

Not a genuine new business

We do not provide grants for taking over an existing business.

In this phase, you will assess the technical and commercial viability of your idea.

The activities must help you develop your product or service based on customer and market insights, with the aim of establishing a profitable business model.

Relevant activities and milestones at this stage may relate to:

Technical clarifications

• Review the evidence base for a new solution – previous research, analyses and studies
• Clarify the technical requirements for further development
• Develop a plan for a potential main project (innovation activities)
• Test a minimum viable product with potential customers
• Provide evidence of the project’s potential positive environmental and social impacts

Business clarifications

• Develop an intellectual property strategy
• Test a potential business model (and payment model) for the solution
• Recruit pilot customers and business partners
• Define your value proposition – describe what makes your product or service unique so customers choose it over competitors’ offerings
• Identify the skills and investment needed to develop your solution further
• Plan your next steps to achieve commercial success
• Secure sufficient capital to carry out the next phase, either through your company’s existing owners or external investors
• Establish a professional board or an advisory board with relevant expertise

The grant is up to NOK 1 million per company and can cover up to 50% of approved project costs.

Your own funding must be available before the first grant payment and may consist of

• earned income or savings
• capital from private sources, including subordinated loans or capital raised through SLIP (Startup’s Lead Investment Paper).

Please note that

• savings or injected capital cannot come from other public funding.
• Earned or saved funds and injected capital available for the project you are applying for funding for must not be committed to other purposes.
• You cannot pay interest on or repay capital provided by lenders/investors during the project period.

Your company must submit a declaration when requesting an advance payment of the grant, confirming that your own funding meets the conditions above, together with confirmation from a state-authorised accountant or auditor that this funding has been provided to your company and is available for the project. Further details are set out in the offer letter.

You cannot receive funding for costs incurred before you submit your application.

At the start of the project, you can request an advance payment of 50% of the grant. Once you have completed 50% of the project, you can request a further 30% of the grant. We pay the remaining 20% when the project ends. You must maintain project accounts detailing approved costs. You must be able to document these costs, and an auditor or state-authorised accountant must review the project accounts.

If your business cannot document the costs approved in the offer letter, we will reduce the grant, and you must repay any overpayment.

The approved project period for the grant is 12 months. You can request a 6-month extension (up to a maximum of 18 months). No further extensions are possible.

To receive the final payment, you must submit a final report, auditor-verified project accounts and a payment request via My page.

Activities during the project period must focus on gaining further insight into the market and the opportunities it offers an innovative scaleup. This requires extensive outreach and close collaboration with market players.

We recommend the course Management tools for technology development on the importance of aligning technical and market development.