Annual report 2024

Investing in challenging markets is possible—and profitable. Our experience shows that private investors often overestimate risks. Norfund helps bridge this gap, mobilizing capital where it’s needed the most.

Click here to visit our digital annual report

What we invest in

Norfund invests in conventional renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydropower, biomass and geothermal. Norfund invests in both utility-scale, grid-connected power plants and distributed generation. The latter includes smaller-scale projects and off-grid solutions that supply power directly to the end-user. Additionally, Norfund invests in enabling technologies that have a significant climate impact such as energy storage and transmission.

We will continue to increase Norfund’s portfolio in renewable power generation in our target markets, building on existing investment platforms and partnerships as well as working with new partners.

Norfund will not make new investments in fossil fuels, with the exception of clearly defined and necessary cases that support energy transition in line with the Paris Agreement.

Business models

Large-scale renewable power generation

Norfund invests in medium to large-scale grid-connected power plants, primarily with or via industrial partnerships. These plants typically supply power under long-term contracts to utilities. Over the past decade, the costs of solar and wind power have dropped dramatically, strengthening the transition to renewable energy sources.

Medium to large power plants

Medium to large-scale grid-connected power plants, primarily with or via industrial partnerships. These plants typically supply power under long-term contracts to utilities. Over the past decade, the costs of solar and wind power have dropped dramatically, strengthening the transition to renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy sources

Over the past decade, the costs of solar and wind power have dropped dramatically, strengthening the transition to renewable energy sources. Over the past decade, the costs of solar and wind power have dropped dramatically, strengthening the transition to renewable energy sources.

Supply power under long-term contracts

These plants typically supply power under long-term contracts to utilities. Over the past decade, the costs of solar and wind power have dropped dramatically, strengthening the transition to renewable energy sources. Norfund invests in medium to large-scale grid-connected power plants, primarily with or via industrial partnerships.

Photo: Lake Turkana

Photo: Sea Beach

Photo: Grapes garden

Photo: Meetup

What we offer

Norfund is an active minority investor. We offer risk capital through equity, loans and funds to companies that meet our requirements.

To maximize commercial and developmental success, Norfund strives to be a value adding owner beyond the capital investments. Norfund’s investment teams have extensive experience in project development and governance and work closely with the partners to develop the companies. Norfund takes a position as an active owner and requires the right for a board seat in equity investments. With more than 25 years’ experience of investing in developing countries, Norfund continuously builds and develops the expertise needed to invest and manage risks in order to succeed as an investor.

Partner with Norfund. >

The Norwegian Parliment

Nam neque lectus, porttitor vel pharetra vitae, feugiat non dui. Praesent et diam eu est fringilla tempus ut a purus. Curabitur egestas enim sed est pulvinar dignissim. Suspendisse laoreet feugiat eros non molestie. Aliquam interdum placerat ex vitae consequat. Donec sit amet orci et ex molestie suscipit. Proin nec convallis est. Vivamus aliquet rhoncus felis, vitae elementum elit lacinia quis. Cras rutrum nibh odio, sit amet tincidunt tellus porttitor sit amet. Morbi vestibulum vel massa vitae efficitur. Cras diam magna, viverra ut pharetra sit amet, mollis eu felis. Ut bibendum lectus orci, quis feugiat urna ullamcorper eget. Morbi eget lacus nec urna pharetra tempus in nec ante. Vestibulum porta vestibulum nunc vitae lobortis. Quisque malesuada lectus sem, id posuere enim dignissim non

The Minister of International Development

Cras sagittis orci at diam placerat, quis fringilla felis dapibus. Integer tincidunt sem in erat pulvinar sodales. Vivamus fringilla tincidunt tincidunt. Suspendisse efficitur nisl ac lorem semper condimentum. Ut nec nibh et eros consectetur iaculis. Quisque sit amet fringilla purus, blandit fermentum nunc. Quisque venenatis laoreet sem eget sodales. Morbi pretium nulla vitae odio aliquam, eu porttitor augue luctus. Sed semper, lorem sit amet mattis feugiat, ante nibh cursus lacus, ac pellentesque ligula quam nec mi. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae;

Norfund’s Board of Directors

Praesent lorem urna, dignissim id urna sit amet, euismod porta mi. Nulla convallis sapien ut tellus hendrerit, ut lacinia velit tempus. Vestibulum urna ex, varius vitae orci egestas, finibus rutrum tortor. Proin blandit nunc at elit aliquam, vel convallis orci vulputate. Pellentesque sed ex nisl. Quisque quis nisl in massa faucibus consequat. Ut eleifend nulla in auctor elementum. Donec in fringilla quam, vitae efficitur ipsum. Vivamus at turpis a erat sodales tincidunt. Suspendisse convallis ex elit, ac ullamcorper elit porta nec. Integer at mattis massa. Duis ornare mollis velit ac dictum.

Norfund Management Team

Maecenas hendrerit ornare nisi eget volutpat. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Curabitur varius, lorem eget sagittis dapibus, purus ex convallis augue, id lobortis diam urna eu nunc. Nam a dapibus magna. Pellentesque pellentesque sapien in neque placerat aliquet. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla faucibus, dolor non finibus sagittis, nisi massa cursus urna, id feugiat lectus dolor nec risus. Quisque pretium nisi est, nec laoreet urna blandit id. Curabitur ac nunc sit amet neque dapibus pharetra. Cras enim eros, fermentum id orci imperdiet, fringilla porttitor magna. Phasellus dolor risus, mollis et ligula ut, consequat dapibus est.

Salary reports

Executive salary report 2022

(in Norwegian)

Executive salary report 2022

(in Norwegian)

Guidelines for remuneration  to senior staff

Short text

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Financial Inclusion

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Scalable Enterprises

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Green Infrastructure

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Investment committee

Norfund’s Investment Committee (IC) is led by the CEO, has eight members, whereof two are external. While the Management Team decides on investments up to USD 4 million, the IC is mandated to decide on investments between USD 4 – USD 20 million and commercial exits. The IC reviews investment proposals above USD 20 million, but final approval is to be made by the Board of Directors.

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

No image

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

No image

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Norfund's Annual Report 2024

What we offer

Norfund adds value by providing capital. We also add value by offering local expertise, market knowledge and access to our extensive business network. We offer companies guidance on environmental, social and business integrity issues. By providing practical, hands-on support and having efficient decision-making processes we help businesses to become stronger. In turn, this helps them to become more attractive to other investors.

Risk capital

Equity investments are prioritized by Norfund because equity is the scarcest type of capital in most developing countries.

Equity investments are usually from USD 4-50 million
Norfund takes a maximum of 35% ownership
This means that the projects normally have a total equity of NOK 100 million and above
Norfund is an active owner and often has a board position
The investment horizon is typically five to ten years

Equity

Equity investments are prioritized by Norfund because equity is the scarcest type of capital in most developing countries.

Equity investments are usually from USD 4-50 million
Norfund takes a maximum of 35% ownership
This means that the projects normally have a total equity of NOK 100 million and above
Norfund is an active owner and often has a board position
The investment horizon is typically five to ten years

Loans

Equity investments are prioritized by Norfund because equity is the scarcest type of capital in most developing countries.

Equity investments are usually from USD 4-50 million
Norfund takes a maximum of 35% ownership
This means that the projects normally have a total equity of NOK 100 million and above
Norfund is an active owner and often has a board position
The investment horizon is typically five to ten years

Funds

Equity investments are prioritized by Norfund because equity is the scarcest type of capital in most developing countries.

Equity investments are usually from USD 4-50 million
Norfund takes a maximum of 35% ownership
This means that the projects normally have a total equity of NOK 100 million and above
Norfund is an active owner and often has a board position
The investment horizon is typically five to ten years

Renewable Energy

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Financial Inclusion

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Scalable Enterprises

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Green Infrastructure

Norfund invests in renewable energy to increase energy access and supply in developing countries.

Get to know our people

Norfund employee story Nikolai

Please accept marketing cookies to see video

Norfund employee story William

Norfund employee story Nikolai

Norfund employee story Sofie

Please accept marketing cookies to see video

Norfund employee story Sofie

Our ambitions

In our strategy 2023-2026, our defined ambitions are:

million m3

water and wastewater  treatment capacity enabled

20,000

tons

waste treatment  capacity enabled

nationalities

51%

women

134

employees

20,000

tons

waste treatment  capacity enabled

million m3

water and wastewater  treatment capacity enabled

Anne Jorun Aas

Director

Anne Jorun Aas is the CEO of Farmforce AS, an agritech SaaS company that digitize data from smallholder farming. She also serves on the board of Envipco, a reverse vending machine technology company. Previous positions include COO of Scatec, SVP of Scatec Solar, interim CEO of Kjeller Innovasjon and McKinsey. She has significant board experience from listed and private companies including serving as Board Chair of EnergiX, a large program in the Norwegian Research Council. She holds a PhD in nuclear chemistry from the University of Oslo and CERN, Geneva.

Åslaug Haga

Director

Åslaug M. Haga is currently the CEO of Renewables Norway – the Norwegian wind power association. She has background from foreign service, national politics, private sector and international organizations. Haga has been State Secretary in the MFA and at the prime minister’s office. She has held three ministerial cabinet positions in the Ministries of culture, local & regional affairs and oil & energy. She has also been a member of Parliament. She has served in various positions in the MFA – including postings at the Norwegian Mission to the UN in New York and the embassy in New Delhi. Before joining Renewables Norway, she was the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and Assistant Secretary General in the International Fund for Agricultural Development. From 2016 to 2020 she was Chair of the board for the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Haga was appointed to the Norfund board in August 2022.

Bjørnar Baugerud

Head of the Climate Investment Fund

Bjørnar Baugerud holds a Master of Science in Business Administration (finance) from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He began his career in the Norwegian Army in 1995 and later worked at Elkem and KPMG, where he managed financial due diligence and M&A advisory projects. From 2008 to 2019, he held several senior investment roles at Norfund, including Head of the Climate Investment Fund, managing renewable energy investments across emerging markets. He has also completed Ph.D. coursework in financial economics at NHH and an Executive Board Program at INSEAD.

Brit Rugland

Director

Brit Kristin Rugland was Director of Statoil Shipping and Maritime Technology and CFO of the Statoil Group. She led the establishment of Navion ASA. Since 2000, she has been General Manager of various parts of the Rugland family business and is currently also Chair of the board of the Norwegian Agency for Local Governments (Kommunalbanken AS). Previous positions include Chair of the board of Gassco AS for 11 years, Chair of the board of Figgjo AS, and member of the Executive Board in the Central Bank of Norway for 10 years. Rugland holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, major in accounting and a Master of Management from BI Norwegian Business School. Appointed board member in June 2015.

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.

Erik Sandersen

Executive Vice President, Financial Inclusion

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.

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 finance 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.

Jarle Roth

Director

Jarle Roth is the board chairman of Storebrand. He has previously served as CEO of Umoe, Arendals Fossekompani, Export Credit Norway, and Unitor, as well as director of the Fram Museum. He has also been board chairman of Hafslund, Norske Skog ASA, Enova SF, Glamox AS, Powel AS and EFD Induction AS; and a board member of Umoe, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Hafslund, Ekornes ASA, Multiconsult AS, Kverneland ASA, Awilco Offshore ASA, Grieg Shipping AS, and Aibel AS.

Kiran Aziz

Director

Kiran Aziz is Head of Responsible Investments at KLP Asset Management and joined KLP 1^st of July 2019. She is responsible for ownership and responsible investment activities. Prior to joining KLP, Ms Aziz was a lawyer, lecturer and researcher. She also has extensive board experience. She is among on board for Norwegian Refugee Council which is a humanitarian organization for displaced people and Dagbladet which is one of Norway’s largest newspapers. She is also a columnist for online newspaper for finance and business at E24 in Norway. Ms Aziz holds a law degree from the University of Oslo and an Executive course from Harvard Business School.

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.

Martin Skancke

Director

Martin Skancke is a self-employed consultant at Skancke Consulting. He has worked in the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and headed the Ministry’s Section for Monetary Policy and Public Finances. Skancke has also previously been Chair of Norway’s Climate Risk Commission and Director General at the Office of the Norwegian Prime Minister and at the Ministry of Finance’s Asset Management Department. He has held positions at McKinsey & Company and Storebrand ASA. He is currently a board member of Norfund, Storebrand ASA, Storebrand Livsforsikring AS, Summa Equity AB, Norsk Klimastiftelse and Klimastiftelsen UMOE. Appointed board member in June 2014.

Olaug Svarva

Chair

Olaug Svarva was the CEO of the Government Pension Fund Norway (Folketrygdfondet) from 2006 to 2018. Today, Svarva is Chair of the Board in DNB and she has also served as board member of Investinor, Institute of International Finance (IIF), and The Norwegian memorial foundation for Alfred Nobel. From 2001 to 2006, she held positions as CEO & Investment Director at SpareBank 1 Aktiv Forvaltning and SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring. Svarva holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Denver. She is also authorized as a portfolio manager by the Norwegian Society of Financial Analysts. Appointed Chair of the Board of Norfund in June 2019.

Organization

Annual report 2024

What we invest in

Business models

What we offer

The Norwegian Parliment

The Minister of International Development

Norfund’s Board of Directors

Norfund Management Team

Executive salary report 2022

Executive salary report 2022

Guidelines for remuneration to senior staff

Investment committee

What we offer

Risk capital

Equity

Loans

Funds

Norfund employee story Nikolai

Norfund employee story William

Norfund employee story Nikolai

Norfund employee story Sofie

Norfund employee story Sofie

Our ambitions

In our strategy 2023-2026, our defined ambitions are:

million m3

tons

nationalities

women

employees

tons

million m3

Guidelines for remuneration  to senior staff