Norfund’s mandate is to assist in building sustainable businesses and industries in developing countries. Our mandate is complex, and our most valuable resource to meet this mandate is our employees. We believe that with a relatively small organization built on local presence and competence spread across the globe, Norfund is a unique place to work both in terms of our mandate, as well as incorporating the Norfund culture – The Norfund Way.
Investment expertise
By year-end 2023, 83 out of 134 permanent employees were working directly on investments, following the projects through all phases of the investment process. This includes eleven dedicated employees dealing with Environmental and Social issues (E&S).
Norfund has four sector-based investment areas: Renewable Energy, Financial Inclusion, Scalable Enterprises and Green Infrastructure.
Impact expertise, financial analysis, organizational development, and legal support
About 1/3 of Norfund’s employees work in one of our corporate departments. The Strategy and Communication department leads strategy development and implementation, analyses development effects and additionality. The department also works with gender, media, and climate. Finally, they manage stakeholder relations and communication, as well as dialogue with Norfund’s owner, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Finance, IT, Risk and HR department is responsible for Norfund’s accounts, financial analysis, and portfolio reporting, as well as for recruitment, skills, and staff development. This department is also responsible for Enterprise Risk Management, IT, the Business Support facility, and the Frontier Facility.
The Legal department is responsible for legal and compliance issues. For more information on gender equality and work with inclusion please refer to the annual report on equality.
Country presence
To ensure local proximity and knowledge Norfund has five regional offices located in Accra, Bangkok, Cape Town, Nairobi, and San José. The regional offices generate investments, monitor existing commitments, and provide all the sector-based departments with support. 44 Norfund staff members are employed across our regional offices.
The Bangkok office manages Norfund’s investments in Asia, focusing on financial services, funds, and renewable energy. Norfund has over 20 years of experience investing in East Africa, focusing on scalable enterprises and financial inclusion. The office in San José handles Norfund’s investments in Latin America, focusing on financial inclusion and renewable energy. The office has a particular focus on debt and equity investments and business support projects. The Southern African office is based in Cape Town, and oversees Norfund’s investments in key Southern African countries, focusing on scalable enterprises and renewable energy. The Accra office has since its opening in 2018 managed Norfund’s investments across West Africa, covering all our sectors.
The Norfund Way
The Norfund Way forms the basis for our corporate culture. It is an integrated part of the company’s Governance Framework, Code of Conduct, as well as the business processes. We aim to have a corporate culture which is specific and concrete, describing what types of attitudes and actions we believe best promote Norfund’s mandate.
The Norfund Way is an expression of how we act when we are working for Norfund, when delivering at our best. It is illustrated by circles that represent the five dimensions of the Norfund culture, starting with our individual attitude and behavior and ending with how we interact with our community.
Board of Directors
Norfund’s Board of Directors is appointed by the General Assembly. The General Assembly is constituted by the Norwegian Minister of International Development who governs the state’s ownership in Norfund.
Norfund’s Board of Directors ensures that the Fund operates in accordance with the Norfund Act of 1997 and the fund’s statutes. The Board defines Norfund’s strategy and approves individual investments exceeding specified thresholds. Other investment decisions are delegated to the CEO.
In 2023, the Board held a total of 7 board meetings.
Olaug Svarva
ChairBrit Rugland
DirectorMartin Skancke
DirectorJarle Roth
DirectorKaroline Teien Blystad
Director (Employee Elected)Lasse David Nergaard
Director (Employee elected, until September)Pablo Barrera
Director (from June)Tove Stuhr Sjøblom
Director (until June)Vegard Benterud
Director (Employee elected)Vidar Helgesen
DirectorÅslaug Haga
DirectorManagement Team
The management team manages the Fund according to Norfund´s mandate of creating jobs and improving lives in developing countries. There have been no changes in the management team in 2023.
Tellef Thorleifsson
Chief Executive Officer
Tellef Thorleifsson has been CEO of Norfund since Autumn 2018. Prior to Norfund, he was a co-founder and managing partner of Northzone. Thorleifsson was instrumental in building Northzone to become a leading international venture fund. Since inception in 1996 it has raised more than EUR 1.5 billion through nine funds and invested in more than 130 companies. Thorleifsson is also a co-founder of the Voxtra Foundation which has been making targeted investments and grants within agribusiness in East Africa. Thorleifsson has held several directorships.
Fride Andrea Hærem
Chief Financial Risk Officer & Head of HR
Fride Andrea Hærem took the position as CFRO and Head of HR in Norfund in 2021. Before joining Norfund, she was EVP for HR, Marketing and Communication, IT and Strategy at Norconsult. She has more than 10 years of experience in HR directorship roles and has held several manager positions, including at Posten and Cermaq. She holds a Master of Management with a specialisation in international business leadership from BI Norwegian Business School.
Thomas Fjeld Heltne
Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Thomas Fjeld Heltne took the position as General Counsel in Norfund in 2019. Before joining Norfund, he was Director M&A at Norsk Hydro. Heltne has throughout his career worked with transactions, financing and international projects, both from the legal and commercial side. He holds a degree in law from Norway as well as a Master of Laws from LSE and Corporate Finance from the Norwegian School of Management. Heltne has been member of and observer to boards of Norwegian industrial companies and served on the Trade Policy Panel for the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).
Ylva Lindberg
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Communication
Prior to joining Norfund, Ylva was founding partner of SIGLA, a boutique consultancy on sustainability and business, for 13 years. She has worked with sustainable and impact investments for almost 20 years and has experience with asset management and consumer goods. Ylva is a senior associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, board member of Lærdal Medical and member of the Responsible Investment Advisory Council of BMO Global Asset Management.
Erik Sandersen
Executive Vice President, Financial Institutions
Erik joined Norfund in 2014 and has represented Norfund on several boards of banks and microfinance institutions. He is currently a board member of the South Africa-based bank investment firm Arise and of the Nordic Microfinance Initiative. Prior to joining Norfund, Erik worked for 10 years as a co-founder and partner in a venture capital firm in the Nordic region. He has also worked as an executive in the IT sector and for the Boston Consulting Group in London and Oslo. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and an MBA from Stanford University.
Mark Davis
Executive Vice President, Renewable Energy
Mark has worked extensively with renewable energy investments, regulation and policy in developing countries, with a focus on Africa. Prior to joining Norfund he was a partner at ECON Analysis, and previously was Postgraduate Director at the Energy & Development Research Centre, University of Cape Town. He holds a PhD in energy economics from the University of Sussex, and earlier degrees in mathematics and applied science from the University of Cape Town.
Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen
Executive Vice President, Green Infrastructure and Scalable Enterprises
Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen joined Norfund as EVP for Scalable Enterprises in March 2020. In 2021 she also took on the role of EVP for Green Infrastructure. Prior to Norfund, Ellen held several senior positions at Yara, the world’s leading fertilizer company. Her last position in Yara was as VP of Sustainability Programs and Global Projects. Prior to that, she was country manager for the Ivory Coast. Earlier in her career Ellen spent four years as EVP for Agrinos, an international agriculture input provider, responsible for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Ellen has also had various management positions at Norsk Hydro and served as a board member for SINTEF. She studied economics in Norway and France.
Norfund Investment Committee
Norfund’s Investment Committee (IC) is important for quality assurance and for strengthening decision-making. The IC is chaired by the CEO, Tellef Thorleifsson and has seven additional members:
- Three external members: Per Aage Jacobsen, Kathryn Baker and Jacob Kholi.
- Four management team members; Mark Davis, Erik Sandersen, Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen and Thomas Fjeld Heltne.
- One E&S advisor; Karin Bianca Gullman.
Norfund Credit Committee
Norfund Credit Committee (CC) approves loans to banks.
The committee consists of:
- Tellef Thorleifsson
- Thomas Fjeld Heltne
- Naana Winful Fynn
- Erik Sandersen
- Kristin Imafidon
- Tore Olaf Rimmereid (External)
Norfund Risk and Audit Committee
The Risk and Audit Committee is a preparation and advisory committee for the Board of Directors.
Its function is twofold:
- Assess the company’s overall operational and financial risk and recommend any measures to the board.
- Assist the Board of Directors in overseeing the company’s financial reporting and control systems and recommend improvements.
The committee consists of three representatives from the Board:
- Martin Skancke
- Vidar Helgesen
- Brit Kristin Sæbø Rugland
And two representatives from Norfund, where Chief Financial and Risk Officer is leading the committee secretariat:
- Fride Andrea Hærem
- Hege Elisabeth Seel