Sub-goal 1: More successful entrepreneurs

In 2022, we continued to work on ensuring we provide good financial and expert services, and the best possible ecosystem for entrepreneurs. We also worked on digitalising the work with customers. Access to capital is particularly challenging for start-ups with high technology and market risk, and often the risk is too high for the private capital market alone.

Down from the record year 2020

In 2022, Innovation Norway approved 384 start-up grants totalling NOK 144 million, a decrease of 21 per cent. In particular, demand for grants for market clarification fell. The number of allocations was relatively low in 2021 as well, after the record in the pandemic year of 2020. Entrepreneurs receive a significant proportion of other funding services. In 2022, 40.5 per cent of the allocations from the environmental technology programme went to start-ups.

In total, loans, grants, and guarantees amounting to just over NOK 1.5 billion were disbursed in 2022, a decrease of NOK 0.5 billion from the year before. Grants accounted for NOK 691 million and loans NOK 619 million. Of all the entrepreneurial projects we supported, 34 per cent were female-oriented. Measured in terms of amount allocated, the female-oriented share was 21 per cent.

More must succeed with commercialisation

In August 2022, we received an evaluation of our start-up funding from Menon. One of the conclusions is that too few of the companies that receive start-up grants are successful when it comes to commercialisation. The evaluation shows that companies that have undergone a longer, broader business support journey have achieved greater success.

Menon recommended milestone-based funding with closer follow-up over time. In autumn 2022, we conducted an insights and input process and will launch adjusted start-up grants in the first four months of 2023.

Innovation Norway funding contributes to faster growth

Companies that have received funding from Innovation Norway grow faster than other start-ups, according to the customer impact survey. When we include the 2021 financial year, the estimates are relatively stable compared with previous surveys. This year’s impact survey indicates continued positive impacts from the support.

On average, companies that have received funding have increased their annual growth in sales revenue by 17.1 percentage points compared with comparable companies that did not receive support. The corresponding figures for value creation and productivity are 17.4 and 10.2 percentage points, respectively. Entrepreneurs boost the overall impact for the entire customer portfolio.

Another impact indicator for entrepreneurs is survival rate. In this year's report, this indicator shows a 5.7 per cent difference in survival after five years, in favour of Innovation Norway entrepreneurs.

A wide range of expertise services

Our entrepreneur services include funding, sparring, workshops, and networking with partners. In 2022, we developed a number of digital expert programmes that are open and free to all. Some 113 start-ups have received one-to-one sparring via the mentor service for entrepreneurs, and our global accelerator programmes provide Norwegian start-ups with access to unique expertise and networks in order to succeed with scaling and growth in international markets.

Further development of the ecosystem

A strong ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship comprises public actors, investors, incubators, start-up helpers, and serial entrepreneurs. The ecosystem has developed positively in recent years, although there are large regional differences where the larger cities, especially Oslo, have relatively well-functioning ecosystems.

25 clusters received a total of NOK 8.2 million in grants through the ‘ecosystem grants’ programme. The programme is designed to stimulate more cooperation between the players in the ecosystem and provide an alternative offer for start-ups and growth companies. The grant recipients include incubators, start-up guides, clusters, and universities.