Greencubator has joined a business mission to Oslo, the capital of Norway, at the invitation of the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance. Daria Prokaza represented Greencubator and collected useful information for the sustainable business ecosystem in Ukraine. The visit took place on 14-16 October 2024 with the close support and cooperation of the Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (NUUC).
Why Norway?
Norway is especially interesting for Ukrainian sustainable and green businesses due to its leading position in implementing sustainable innovations, using renewable energy sources and developing a green economy.
In particular, bilateral trade between Ukraine and Norway has been steadily growing: from 2023 to 2015, it increased by 372%. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Norway has closed its borders to numerous Russian goods and has been working to replace them with exports from Ukraine.
In 2023 alone, trade turnover between the two countries totalled USD 523 million. This reflects a 70% increase compared to 2022, indicating significant potential for collaboration, which the Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce aims to develop.
With whom can Ukrainian businesses cooperate in Norway?
Each Norwegian organisation the Ukrainian delegation has met with is interested in cooperating with Ukraine in various formats: experience exchange, joint projects, grant programmes, etc. Here are some of the institutions that the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance met during the two-day visit:
- The Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce has been developing cooperation between Norwegian and Ukrainian businesses for over 20 years.
- Innovation Norway is the key government instrument for supporting innovation and development of Norwegian business and industry, as well as the official trade representative of the Norwegian government abroad.
- Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) is a Norwegian government organisation that manages Norway’s international aid to promote sustainable development in developing countries. It supports projects to reduce poverty, protect the environment, strengthen human rights and develop infrastructure.
- SMB Norway is the largest association of small and medium-sized businesses in Norway, with around 5,500 members across the country, covering sectors such as construction, trade, industry, vocational services and healthcare. Ukrainian companies can apply for grant support by following this link.
- The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise is Norway’s largest business association, promoting profitable and sustainable business through security, proximity and political influence.
- SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest independent research and development centres, carrying out thousands of projects for large and small companies every year. Among the projects relevant to Ukraine, SINTEF has considerable expertise in dealing with construction waste: SINTEF makes new concrete from demolished buildings. This could be useful for managing houses destroyed during the war in Ukraine.
- Clusters such as City Construction, the Norwegian Circular Economy Centre, the Cybersecurity Cluster, and the Circular Economy Association, along with other organisations, are showing interest in working with Ukraine.
What were the results of the delegation’s visit?
The two-day visit to Oslo was the first introduction to Norway for the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance and its partners, such as Greencubator.
‘The most valuable thing about the visit was to see how many opportunities for cooperation Ukrainian business has. It is clear that the Norwegians are ready to share their experience in everything essential for our ecosystem in Ukraine: experience in waste management, circular economy development, implementation of sustainable practices and green technologies.
In particular, it was valuable that our Norwegian partners raised relevant questions and emphasis when we talked about the work of Ukrainian green startups. The next step for us, as a Greencubator, is to share all our insights with the network and introduce new partners to the alumni of our programmes,’ says Daria Prokaza, Global Communications Manager at Greencubator.
The Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce is ready to support the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance in potential similar visits in 2025, as well as to facilitate cooperation between the Alliance and partners with Norwegian organisations and businesses.
