Growth guarantee

The growth guarantee improves access to bank financing for innovative and/or fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises. It provides additional security when a company is considered able to service a loan but cannot provide the collateral required to secure bank financing. By guaranteeing 75 per cent of the bank’s losses on the loan, we enable banks to finance companies at an earlier stage of their development.
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Service type
Financial guarantee
Target audience
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Application deadline
Ongoing
How much
Up to NOK 8 million

The growth guarantee is aimed at innovative and/or fast-growing companies with up to 250 employees that their bank considers able to service a loan but that lack sufficient collateral to secure the best possible financing. The borrower must be registered and based in Norway.

If the bank can answer yes to the following questions, the customer may qualify for a financial solution that includes a Growth Guarantee:

  • Does the company have the capacity to service the loan?
  • Does your company lack sufficient collateral for its current credit needs?
  • Is your company in a position to meet one or more innovation and growth criteria?
  • Does the company, including any group companies, have 250 employees or fewer?
  • Does your company's capital requirement fall within the scheme's funding purpose, which covers tangible and intangible investments as well as operating and working capital?

Each company may be granted bank loans of up to NOK 8 million, as one or more instalment loans and/or lines of credit. The loan can be used for both investments and working capital. Our total guarantee liability is limited to 20 per cent of the value of all loans approved for the bank under the Growth Guarantee scheme.

The Growth Guarantee can be used to finance most of a company's capital needs, including physical and intangible investments, working capital and changes of ownership.

The banks handle customer communication and credit assessments. The bank pays the arrangement fee and financial guarantee commission for the first year to us in advance on behalf of the company.

  • The repayment term for amortising loans is up to 10 years. The term may be extended during the loan period, provided the total term does not exceed 10 years.
  • Operating credit facilities have a maximum term of four years and a minimum term of one year. Before expiry, they may be converted into repayment loans, provided the total term does not exceed 10 years.

Here you can find the banks that have signed the agreement so far and offer financing under the Growth Guarantee scheme. We update the list regularly.

We encourage businesses to contact the banks’ advisors listed below. Please note that all communication about the Growth Guarantee takes place directly between the business and the bank:

Danske Bank

DNB

Nordea

Rogaland Sparebank

SpareBank 1 Helgeland

SpareBank 1 Nordmøre

SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge

SpareBank 1 SMN

SpareBank 1 Sogn og Fjordane

SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge

SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus

SpareBank 1 Østlandet

Sparebanken Møre

Sparebanken Norge


Process for using the Growth Guarantee

Once the bank has confirmed that the relevant facility can be secured by a Growth Guarantee, the process is as follows:

  • The credit application is submitted and decided in accordance with the bank's standard procedures.
  • The bank sends an offer to the customer, subject to a Growth Guarantee from Innovation Norway. The following form is enclosed with the offer:
  • The customer accepts the loan offer by signing and returning it to the bank.
  • The bank registers the loan with us by entering the relevant information in the Growth Guarantee web portal.
  • You will receive an email from us asking you to complete a self-declaration on My page. Log in to My page, go to 'Online banking' and complete the form under 'Case processing'.
  • Within two working days, we check that the scheme's conditions have been met and inform the bank that the growth guarantee application has been approved.
  • The bank must pay the establishment fee and guarantee premium for the first year in advance on behalf of the company into our account, number 8200 01 43614. This payment activates the guarantee.

Pre-qualification by Innovation Norway

If the bank is unsure whether the customer qualifies for the Growth Guarantee, it may be useful to check with us. This is particularly relevant for group relationships and when calculating company size.

How is the risk shared between Innovation Norway and the bank?

We guarantee 75% of the loss on the relevant exposure (loss guarantee), limited to 20% of the loan portfolio agreed with the bank. This means that the bank retains 25% of the risk on each exposure.

New loan number for a new facility?

If the bank has already used the Growth Guarantee for a customer but wants to extend its lending commitment using the Growth Guarantee as security, it must issue a new loan number for the new commitment.

Can the Growth Guarantee be used to refinance or repay existing loans?

No. The Growth Guarantee is used for new loans or credit facilities that represent a net increase in the bank’s exposure to the customer in question. If you are unsure whether refinancing is permitted, get in touch.

Establishment fee and guarantee commission

The establishment fee is 1% of the maximum guarantee liability for the first year.

The guarantee fee is 0.75% per year of the guaranteed amount.

For the financial guarantee to remain valid, the bank must pay us the establishment fee and the first year's commission no later than 14 days after the loan has been made available to the company. The commission and our account number are stated in the guarantee declaration. The financial guarantee/loan must be drawn down no later than five months after the financial guarantee was issued. Otherwise, our guarantee obligation will lapse.

Changing banks

An active financial guarantee cannot be transferred to a new bank, even if the new bank also participates in the scheme. This applies only to financial guarantees granted after 2024. Financial guarantees granted in 2024 or earlier can still be transferred to a new bank.

Standard terms and conditions with appendices

Standard terms and conditions no. 2

Appendix 1: Criteria – innovation and digitalisation

Appendix 2: Exclusionary circumstances

Appendix 3: Restricted sectors

Annex 4: Activities excluded from InvestEU

Appendix 5: Borrower declaration relating to the Growth Guarantee

Appendix 6: Content requirements for the lender's payment request

Interpretation of the EIF's restrictions on activities, industries and jurisdictions

Excluded jurisdictions

Previous standard terms and conditions with appendices

2020

2018

2017

Contacts at Innovation Norway

Pre-qualification of potential borrowers and other enquiries about the scheme can be submitted in writing by email to vekstgaranti@innovasjonnorge.no, or you can contact the following people:

Standard terms and conditions with appendices

Standard terms and conditions no. 2

Appendix 1: Criteria – innovation and digitalisation

Appendix 2: Exclusionary situations

Appendix 3: Restricted sectors

Annex 4: Activities excluded from InvestEU

Appendix 5: Borrower declaration relating to the Growth Guarantee

Appendix 6: Content requirements for the lender's disbursement request

Interpretation of the EIF's restrictions on activities, sectors and jurisdictions

Excluded jurisdictions

Key eligibility criteria for funding

To receive services from us, your company must uphold the principles of responsible business conduct and actively consider its own sustainability risks. Read more about sustainability and responsible business conduct.

State aid rules

Funding from Innovation Norway must comply with State aid rules. There are five general conditions for State aid that must be met.

The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) is part of the State aid rules. It contains provisions that allow us to provide support to companies in various circumstances. One or more provisions may apply to each case. Read more about GBER.

Legal basis for the scheme

Our funding schemes have been notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA). The legal basis for these notifications is available on the National Legal Basis page.

Other public funding

The application must state whether other public funding has been or will be sought for the project. The amount of funding we provide is also based on an overall assessment of how much public funding is needed for the project to go ahead.

When determining the grant amount, we therefore assume that you will not receive any other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, beyond what is stated in the application. This applies to funding for the project costs on which we have based our grant calculation (eligible costs). If you nevertheless receive other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, after we have made our offer, and it covers the same costs, we may reduce our grant accordingly or withdraw it entirely.

This does not prevent the company from receiving other public funding for project costs other than those on which we have based our assessment.