With more than NOK 9 billion allocated to the development of Norwegian trade and industry in 2021, Innovation Norway is a key contributor in the financing of several major restructuring and development projects.
One of the most important roles innovation Norway has as a financing actor for the business sector is to contribute to increased value creation and the triggering of capital from other funding sources.
“When Innovation Norway contributes capital in the form of support, loans or guarantees to companies, we contribute triggering capital and reduce project risk, which in turn leads to other actors contributing capital. Our financing often represents critical capital that the companies would not otherwise have access to and which contributes to the realisation of important innovations”, says Leon Bakkebø, Division Director Bank and Financing at Innovation Norway.
Through the financing of a multitude of companies in different phases, Innovation Norway contributes to realising the many good innovative projects that are part of the transition to a sustainable and profitable business sector throughout Norway. It is often the case that capital from Innovation Norway also triggers capital from other actors. For every krone Innovation Norway financed in 2021, it triggered an additional 2 kroner in the form of capital from other actors, which in total constitutes a doubling of the capital from Innovation Norway. In 2021, it contributed to Norwegian enterprises receiving a total of NOK 31.5 billion.
One example is Synergy Sky AS. The company has been based in Oslo since 2008 and has taken on significant market positions in both Europe and the US within the development of video conferencing software. CEO Ståle Reitan is in no doubt that the innovation loan of NOK 21 million from Innovation Norway in 2021 triggered further growth and expansion in the company:
“Receiving the loan also resulted in our owners wanting to invest more in growth. The money has been invested both in Norway and abroad. This includes employing more developers here at home and strengthening presence in our priority areas around the world”, says Reitan.
Today, Synergy Sky has its own employees in twelve countries. 95 percent of the turnover is from abroad.
Innovation Norway is a major financing enterprise in Norway.
"Of the total allocations in 2021 of NOK 9.2 billion, loans and guarantees amounted to approximately NOK 3.5 billion. We have a total loan portfolio of almost NOK 20 billion. This makes us a significant Norwegian financing actor for the business sector, and we have a robustness that enables us to take higher risks in project financing”, says Bakkebø.
Innovation Norway serves as a supplement to the commercial market of banks and other actors.
“It is important to us. We must co-finance with other banks. Through our risk mitigation funding schemes, we make it more attractive for others to co-finance. In this way, we contribute to commercial and socio-economic value creation and jobs throughout the country.
It has been proven over a long period of time that when we manage to connect capital and expertise, we create better results and actual added value for the customer.
Innovation Norway finances projects and companies within many industries and sectors, ranging from start-ups to large businesses, and companies at all stages of their life cycles.
Being in regional and local proximity to customers, Innovation Norway knows the customer, the market and the partners well. It strengthens our role as a sparring partner, also when it comes to financing.
“This is a good starting point for our role as ‘a door-opener’ to the industry-oriented business support system. It has been proven over a long period of time that when we manage to connect capital and expertise, we create better results and actual added value for the customer”, says Bakkebø.
We will further develop our role as Norway’s green industry bank in the future. We will be the key financing actor and contribute to the realisation of the green shift that is now taking place.
2021 has also been characterised by the consequences of the corona pandemic, while the green shift and exports have received extra attention.
“We are noticing a significant shift in awareness regarding restructuring, the green shift, and not least sustainability as a whole. The companies are very aware of the restructuring process that is now taking place. Our funding schemes have contributed to the realisation of many good and innovative projects that have significant internationalisation potential”, says Bakkebø.
For a long time, Innovation Norway has assessed projects and companies in relation to sustainability, and projects that contribute to the green shift have been given particular priority over the past year. The ‘Green Platform’ programme is an example of an initiative to increase innovation-driven green restructuring in the business sector and throughout value chains, where Innovation Norway collaborates with the Research Council of Norway and Siva to finance these projects. Through various assignments and funding schemes, Innovation Norway has also had a triggering effect for the early development of the many major industrial initiatives that are now taking place, within areas such as batteries, offshore wind, hydrogen, green shipping and wood-based industries.
“We will further develop our role as Norway’s green industry bank in the future. We will be the key financing actor and contribute to the realisation of the green shift that is now taking place. In addition, we will continue to be a relevant financing actor for other entrepreneurs and established companies of all sizes and in all phases”, says Leon Bakkebø at Innovation Norway.