Active innovation in NW Russia
SIVAs aim and mandate for presence in the Northwest Russia
SIVA is going to develop and
MURMANSK
Incubator
SIVA establishes a new incubator in Murmansk in Polar Star Innovation centre. According to the plans the premises will be ready in autumn 2007. The target group for Incubator consists of Norwegian private individuals or small enterprises that aim to test new business ideas for commercialisation in the Russian market. Russian private individuals and companies that wish to test new business ideas directed towards the cooperation with Norwegian companies are also welcome as potential applicants for entrance in incubator. For more information about incubator please click here.
SIVA Murmansk Industrial Park
SIVA plans to establish an Industrial park in Murmansk for production within metal processing industry. Norwegian companies are prioritised group for industrial park, but Russian companies that plan to cooperate with Norwegian companies are also welcome as potential tenants in the industrial park. Size and locality are not decided yet. In order to continue, with purchase of building site or purchase of existing construction site, there is a requirement for minimum number of companies. If you are interested to join please take contact with Geir Reiersen on cell phone +47 91383161 or
ARKHANGELSK
Innovation centre and Industrial park
SIVA plans to open an Innovation centre and an Industrial park in Arkhangelsk. Those two will be opened for Norwegian economic activity that aims to establish industrial enterprise in this region. The region has a lot of business opportunities. The establishment of physical infrastructure in Arkhangelsk can provide opportunities for economic cooperation in Arkhangelsk and in the city of Severodvinsk. In order to continue, with purchase of building site or purchase of existing construction site, there is a requirement for minimum number of companies. Russian companies that plan to cooperate with Norwegian companies are also welcome as possible tenants in a future Innovation centre or a future Industrial park. If you are interested to join please take contact with Geir Reiersen on cell phone +47 91383161 or
Innovation in the North
It is often emphasised that future belongs the northern area on Norwegian and Russian side. This is probably true due to oil and gas extraction and production. The northern area has many mutual challenges. Both countries have mutual interest for sustainable development. Both countries wish more opportunities apart from oil and gas industry. Preservation of current fishery industry is an important objective based on considerable gain. Sustainable growth of a new industry within new technology is important for both countries.
SIVA’s extraordinary strategy and main purpose with project Innovation in the northern area through means of technical infrastructure, premises and concepts for Norwegian – Russian cooperation are therefore as following:
Through the establishment of physical infrastructure for Norwegian economic life in North West Russia, based on successful models from SIVA’s business centres in Norway and Baltic, SIVA believes that it will strengthen northern area’s competitiveness based on sustainable development by contributing to exploit regional potential across the northern borders. In addition it is expected that action will yield positive effects in a long term perspective.
Project Innovation in North has also as its objective to be a supplement that contributes to the following subsidiary goal:
- Strengthen society’s ability to innovate and opportunity for innovation based on sustainable development.
- Be supportive of source for innovation (current and new industrial clusters)
- Arrange technological transfer and spread knowledge
- Enter into partnership with local authorities in order to stimulate growth and employment
- Become a part of European objective (Lisbon strategy for EU) to be the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world in long term - Contribute to raise GDP in northern area through new industry
- Develop smart solutions for economic growth and employment by managing more through cooperation across borders than by acting alone.
- Maintain settlement structure in the northern area
- An important contribution to integration and regional construction in northern area through an integrated territorial approach.
NEW MODELS OF INDUSTRY
Cooperation agreements with Russian authorities for industrial establishment
SIVA’s operator SIVATECH AS is in the process of entering into cooperation agreement with Murmansk city and Arkhangelsk for establishment of modern Norwegian industry in these cities. SIVA through SIVATECH AS works on equivalent agreements in all municipalities in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk region. The aim of cooperation agreement is to facilitate the period of establishment, proper locality, network and service to companies that establish new enterprise.
SIVA actively cooperates with the
Young innovation and entrepreneurship in the North – a program that focuses on the source of innovation
In order to strengthen ability to innovation on Norwegian and Russian side in the northern area it is important to focus on the source of innovation. We believe that the important source exists among students and young entrepreneurs and wish to develop programs and activities that focus on this important group. The current actions of this program are:
- Student arrangements in order to stimulate innovation and founder enterprises
- Studclub for idea development and as a channel for practical problems solutions for companies
Norwegian-Russian auditor students / trainees in Norwegian / Russian companies
SIVA enters into cooperation agreements with Norwegian colleges that together with Russian universities are important
Focus on Women innovators in the northern area – this is a program whose target group consists of women that have desire and ambition to establish their own business and women that already lead their own enterprises and can function as a model in order to make visible and mobilise female founders. This project can be seen in connection with staking at students and young entrepreneurs who through incubator offer can create an environment for development of female business founders. This project will take the following steps:
- Organisation of conferences, meetings, training measures for female entrepreneurs in order to make success stories more visible
- Connect ideas, network and different people together in order to create development environment for target group of women
Aiming at women will be used at www.barentsnova.com in order to exchange and spread information and establish a meeting place between female founders in Norway and Russia.
Cooperation agreement between the three major instruments for innovation, research and development
The Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and SIVA – The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway will separately and together provide considerable and effective contribution to renewal of economic activity, innovation ability, competitive power and value adding. The cooperation between these three institutions will result in three clear and well coordinated institutions where instruments complement each other and emerge in a comprehensive way for users (economic activity, R&D institutions and public authorities) in the whole country.
Those three institutions prioritise the following topics for cooperation:
- Better knowledge on innovation challenges
- Better coordinated innovation aiming
- Comprehensive innovation oriented service offer
- Interaction and cooperation on the regional level
- Increased internationalisation of Norwegian economic activity
Besides cooperation with Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway SIVA actively cooperates with
Common portal for Innovation services
The three public innovation organisations The Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and SIVA have launched a common portal for economic activity directed towards companies and Research institutions that work with business oriented Research and Development. The Research Council of Norway’s, Innovation Norway’s and SIVA’s aim with the portal is to facilitate the orientation process for companies and other economy agents through various aid schemes and services that those three organisations have to offer. The new portal is a major step in providing companies and R&D institutions with an easy, united access to the public innovation services. The aim is to contribute to innovation, research and development in all parts of the country.
www.innovasjonstjenester.no is owned and financed by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and SIVA.
The background for cooperation on a portal for innovation services is a politic decision that public organisations’ and institutions’ services should be more available to users. This is a part of politic aim to increase innovation activity and research based economic development in Norway.
Participate in testing of new models for industrial enterprise in North West Russia
North West Russia provides many opportunities for establishment of new industrial enterprise for Norwegian economic activity. SIVA wants feedback from potential Norwegian users on needs and wishes that can result in their or other’s establishment of industrial enterprise in North West Russia. For over 10 years SIVA has assisted Norwegian economic activity for physical establishment of production in East Europe. SIVA has cooperation and network to private and public authorities in North West Russia that facilitate the establishment. Please visit www.sivatech.org for more information.
Please contact us to find out what we can do for you or your company. Please give feedback on needs and wishes to: Geir Reiersen on cell phone +47 91383161,
INNOVATION PROJECTS TARGETING RUSSIA
Rogaland county in Norway and The Executive Committee for Northern Norway (ECNN) are responsible for the EU project Northern Maritime Corridor: sea transport between Europe and Russia
The aim is to develop an effective and secure maritime transport corridor that connects coast areas and strengthens regional development within Northern sea.
8 countries and 20 regions will participate. In addition, the project has a very good cooperation with Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Nenets countries in North West Russia. This project embraces all the important actors in sea transport as well as regional and local authorities. Statoil participates too.
There is a huge potential in Northern Norway. Petroleum resources and fisheries will be important to secure our future. The export industry depends on cooperation with its market especially on the continent. Northern Maritime Corridor project fits perfectly into this perspective. This corridor will add value and promote development. The Norwegian government has also presented the Northern strategy as its important objective. Northern Maritime Corridor project will contribute to achieve this goal. For more information please visit http://www.lu.no/content/view/1899/127/
Cooperation across borders Kolarctic Neighbourhood
INTERREG is an EU initiative in order to diminish disadvantages that state borders present for modern trade. INTERREG IIIA North is a transregional program that mainly strengthens remote regions in EU’s conditions both across internal borders and externally across EU and other countries.
Interreg IIIA North consists of three parts: Kolarctic, Nordkalotten, Sápmi. Norway participates as if it was member of EU, but Norwegian INTERREG financial means comes form Norwegian state budget and not from EU Commission as on EU side. Part Kolarctic and the new Neighbourhood program Kolarctic has border between Nordkalotten and Russia. Interreg means in Kolarctic shall therefore strengthen actors at Nordkalotten’s conditions for border regional cooperation with Russia as well as development of its own priorities.
Interreg is based on partnership principle that means regional political and administrative authorities must cooperate with interest organisations and business activity in order to achieve regional goal. For more information please visit http://www.kolarctic.no/rammeside.htm.
Financing opportunities for Norwegian projects in North West Russia
Innovation Norway has at the department for Fund administration responsibility for administration of Russia, CIS and Balkan Funds that is an offer to Norwegian companies that wish to establish there.
There are 3 funds in total:- Investment fund for Northwest Russia (150 mill NOK)
- Investment fund for the rest of Russia, CIS and Balkan (120 mill NOK)
- Subsidy fund for Northwest Russia
Subsidy fund for Northwest Russia utilises mainly to partial financing of pilot projects together with Norwegian companies to mainly investments projects in Northwest Russia.
Investment funds is an own capital fund that can be used to invest together with Norwegian companies in Russia, CIS countries and in Balkan (except EU countries). The funds offer own capital on commercial terms, competence and experience, as well as access to a broad network in the respective countries.
Common requirements for investment funds are:
Funds will be managed on businesslike basis
Projects will have a Norwegian
Funds can be used to own capital deposits in business environment in activity area, assumed they are at least equal as participation on Norwegian business side at application
Projects must be commercial and establishment must be a strategic strengthening of enterprise in Norway
Funds owner share in a project is usually around 35%, but can never exceed 49%.
Fund’s share can for Investment fund for Northwest Russia maximally amount to 30 mill NOK per project and maximally 15 mill NOK for Investment fund for the rest of Russia, CIS and Balkan.
With Innovation Norway as
Innovation Norway has made a broad network that company can benefit from and can as an official institution contribute to put more emphasis on projects towards local economic activity, politicians, customers and suppliers.
With Innovation Norway on owner’s side one gets professional and long term investor that follows up investments through executive presentations where that is natural. When time comes, Innovation Norway will seek its own share in projects so that funds can contribute to establishment of new projects.
Application information: In order to consider participation we need to have:
Description of project with budget, assumed capital need and financing sketch
Information on Norwegian partner/
Information on Innovation Norway intended own share and eventual requirements connected to this.
For additional information please visit www.innovasjonnorge.no/fond or contact Innovation Norway on Phone: 22002500. Ask for Erik
Innovation Norway established an office in Murmansk in autumn 2006. The office will provide service and information for Norwegian and Russian business in order to strengthen
Contact: Roger Haakon Mikkelsen
Tel. +7 8152 400600 (reception of the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Murmansk)
Fax +7 8152 456871
The Norwegian Barents Secretariat serves the Norwegian – Russian relations in the north and provide grants to projects. More than 2.300 regional Norwegian – Russian Barents projects have got funding from it. Meny of them have been initiated by the Council or staff. Project funding is increasingly conducted in cooperation with the EU Interreg programs and the U.S. Eurasia foundation.
The Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes – Norway – was established in the aftermath of the signing of the Kirkens Declaration. Orginally being a service and support institution for the first Norwegian chairmanship of the Barents Regional Council (1993 – 1995), the Secretariat subsequently prolonged its existence as a project under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1999 the ownership of the Secretariat was offically transferred to the counties of Finnmark, Troms and Nordland. The funding continuing to come from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.
Today, the primary task of the Barents Secretariat is to assist the Barents Regional Council, Norwegian Authorities and other major regional structures. The Secretariat has an extencive network of contacts and cooperates closely with EU institutions and international organizations.
Following the visions and goals stated in the Kirkenes Declaration, the Regional Council regularly produces a new Barents Program, staking out priorities and strategies for the coming period. The Norwegian Barents Secretariat plays a key role when it comes to implementing the program policies.
Field of priorites can be summed up in the following key words:
- Resource center – Serving the different institutions in the Barents Cooperation.
- Projects – Responsibility for distribution of Norwegian grants under the Barents Program.
- Coordination – Bringing regional priorities in conjuction with national and international policies.
- Information – Information center for Norwegian government agencies and organizations.
- Consulting – Give advises to authorities and project managers cooperating in the region.
- Promotion – Presents the Barents Cooperation to people and institutions.
- Contacts – Support
people-to-people , business, organizations and authorities contact in the region
NOPEF grants favourable loans and grants to Nordic Small and
The project must be located in Eastern Europe outside of the European Union and EFTA countries.
During a transitional period ranging from 2005 to 2007 Nopef may grant loans for feasibility studies as a part of projects in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Nopef will handle all applications according to our guidelines. For each application Nopef makes an individual assessment in order to evaluate our possibilities to engage in the feasibility study phase. With regards to disclosure of Nopef’s * documents Nopef is subject to the legislation of the institution’s domicile country i.e. Finland.
Nopef supports projects in the following countries:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine
Company size
Nopef supports SMEs:
Small companies < 100 employees
Large companies of 500 or more employees and / or turnover of 100 mill ˆ or more may NOT apply.
Whereas a small
International business set up
Up to 40 % of the approved feasibility study expenses
An interest free loan which may be
converted to a grant even if the feasibility study does not support a set up
- an approved project progress report and an expense summary
- verification of expenses by a public chartered accountant
A project progress report is required every six months and with every payment request
Typically international business set up refers to high risk ventures with major investments for the purpose of- own business set up or
- a
Joint-Venture
Project export
Up to 40 % of the approved feasibility study expenses
Conditions
The project export is of a special nature and taking place in an unfamiliar market such as to require a feasibility study in order to tender
- requires one named customer and a Letter of Intent (LoI)
- public or private customer
- deliveries often done by a syndicate with one project coordinator
- applicant undertakes a considerable risk
- always to be paid back if delivery is successful
- may be converted to a grant if delivery does not take place
- of tailor made systems, programs, facilities etc
to a named customer - often on the basis of international tender
Does NOT cover normal, running export business.
The following is valid for both international business set up and project export:
Expenses that are covered by Nopef’s loan/grant:- salaries internal / external
- travel and transportation costs and living expenses
- legal and financial advice
- external consultants’ fees
- risk- and profitability calculations
- translations and translators’ fees
- writing a business plan
- evaluation of potential business partners
- operating costs
- marketing and marketing materials
- research and development (R&D) and different kinds of tests
- general market investigations
- furnishings and equipment
- finding an agent or a distributor
- education and training
For more information please visit NOPEF web site
NORWEGIAN TOOLS AND PROJECTS
CIP program
EU program for competitiveness and innovation (Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Program – CIP) will be launched 1. January 2007 and will last until 2013. CIP will promote competitiveness and innovation in Europe. Together with structure funds, 7th program for research and technological development and program for
1. small companies (innovation and entrepreneurship columns)
2. use of information technology (IT columns)
3. effective use of energy and production of replaceable energy (energy column)
CIP collects and expands several of current activities that Norway participates in. CIP aims to strengthen cooperation with EU on economic policy, innovation and entrepreneurship,
CIP will mean so much to development of areas of interests in the future. The Minister of Petroleum and Energy, the Minister of Government Administration and Reform and the Minister of Trade and Industry are very happy to participate in this project.
CIP has four overall objectives: All four of them can be attached to the important fields of stake that government declares in Soria Moria declaration (Norwegian parliament’s White paper):
1. Strengthen competitiveness of companies with special focus on SME
2. Strengthen innovation, including
3. Create a competitive, innovative and including information society
4. Promote effective energy use and increase the use of replaceable energy
Participation in CIP will give Norwegian business environment easier access to European cooperation projects and market. It will give both authorities and companies opportunity to construct a network, exchange experiences and knowledge in Europe. The program will provide Norwegian actors with access to investment capital from European Investment Fund, and EU’s guarantee arrangement for SME. It will also strengthen information offices that contribute to Norwegian companies with information on the internal market and participation in EU program according to the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.
The program will have a budget of total 3.6 billions of Euros for the whole period. Total Norwegian membership fee accounts for 625 millions of NOK for seven years. This is a considerable staking.
CIP will promote internationalisation of Norwegian economic activity, give increased access to capital to innovative projects and strengthen innovation and competitiveness of Norwegian companies.
In Soria Moria declaration the government says that Norway will be one of the leading, innovative, dynamic and knowledge based economies in the world within the area where Norway has advantage. Norway shall be a good country to develop a business. Norway will meet international competition with increased knowledge and competence with innovation and internationally competitive company.
For more about CIP:
Innovasjon Norge
Akersgata 13, 0104 Oslo
Tel: +47 22 00 26 95
Faks: +47 22 00 29 00
Mobil: +47 971 35 126
www.innovasjonnorge.no
www.eic.no
Interreg III is a Community initiative that aims to stimulate interregional
This new phase of the Interreg initiative is designed to strengthen economic and social cohesion throughout the EU by fostering the balanced development of the continent through
The importance of Interreg in the EU’s regional policy has increased and the allocation for the period
The Interreg initiative consists of three strands:
Strand A:
The aim of
Norway is participating in the following
InterregKolarctic: Nordland, Troms and Finnmark counties
Interreg Kvarken – Mitt Skandia: Nordland county
An Interreg programme between counties in the southern parts of Norway and Sweden. In Norway the counties Trøndelag, Sør Trøndelag, Hedmark and Østfold.
Strand B: Transnational
Transnational
Norway is also participating in three strand
Strand C: Interregional
The aim of interregional
More info see www.interreg.no
Related links:
www.
www.northseatrail.org
www.feminfo.net
www.mittnorden.net
www.bsreagle.net
www.kolarctic.no
