It distinguishes between companies in different growth phases — startups, scaleups, and intermediate stages — and uses both national and international definitions and data sources.
The report finds that high-growth firms, while being a small share of the business population, contribute significantly to employment and value creation. There are notable regional and sectoral differences, with Oslo and tech-intensive industries leading in the high-growth firm density. Despite increased public support for innovation, the number of scaleups has not shown a corresponding increase, and Norway has seen a relative decline in high-growth firm shares compared to other European countries. The contribution of high-growth firms to the business sector’s employment and value creation in Norway has also been declining over time.
Access to skilled labour and long-term financing are known as barriers to further growth. We find that family-owned investment companies are the most common investors in high-growth companies, while institutional investors like funds and public support agencies play a smaller role.
Our main findings can be summarised as following:
- Norway has seen a decline in the share of high-growth firms compared to other European countries.
- The number of high-growth firms has not increased despite more public support.
- ICT and service sectors are growing in number of high-growth companies, while industrial sectors are stagnating.
- Family-owned investment companies are the dominant owners of high-growth companies; funds and public investors play a smaller role.
- Microstartups show the strongest ability to sustain growth over time, while gazelles are most likely to become scaleups.
This report is entirely descriptive in nature and does not examine possible drivers or hampering factors of the growth. Further empirical research is recommended.