10 September: A Vestland field day for capital

There is no shortage of ambitious companies in Vestland. The challenge is making sure they have access to the capital, competence and networks they need to develop and scale. To solve this, why we marked 10 September 2026 in our calendar, and we urge you to do the same.

Demo Day 2026

The day starts with Demo Day Vestlandet at Kulturhuset in Bergen. Here 15 promising startups from the region are carefully selevted will pitch to investors and other key players in the innovation ecosystem. Investors and venture funds attending Demo Day represent more than NOK 30 billion in assets under management, a new record for the event. The event will be hosted in English. 

Demo Day is deliberately built around connections. So the programme also includes an LP/GP breakfast, bringing together investors and family offices to discuss venture investment and the future of capital.

Check out the programme and possibilities to participate here.

DNB NXT

In the afternoon, the same stage becomes the venue for DNB NXT Bergen, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. DNB NXT brings together founders, investors and established businesses, with this year’s programme focusing strongly on venture capital, scaling and the role of local investment environments.

The two events illustrate an important point about regional capital markets: capital does not operate in isolation.

A startup may need an angel investor at one stage, a venture fund at the next and international investors when it is ready to scale. Along the way, it needs people who can open doors, provide expertise and connect the company to customers, talent and new markets.

That makes collaboration between investors and the wider innovation ecosystem particularly important.

The programme for DNB NXT reflects this diversity. Representatives from Alliance VC, Momentum, Sarsia and Tidligfasekapital Vestland will discuss why companies should choose local venture capital and what investors are looking for.

No single investor, bank, startup organisation or public-sector actor can build the capital market alone. The value comes from connecting the different parts,  and from creating meeting places where those connections can happen, like the event in 2025. Photo: Charlotte Hartvigsen Lem. 

Collaboration for a regional fund

This is also where regional initiatives such as Tidligfasekapital Vestland become relevant. Together with established venture environments and organisations supporting entrepreneurs, they contribute to a more connected capital ecosystem for companies in the region.

For founders, this means more than an opportunity to pitch. It means access to a network that can potentially follow a company through several stages of development. A stronger ecosystem benefits the whole region. For Vestland, building a stronger capital ecosystem is ultimately about value creation.

- The strength of an ecosystem is not measured by how many actors it has, but by how well those actors connect. Demo Day is a good example of the value created when investors, founders and organisations working with innovation and business development pull in the same direction, and why we are happy to be partner for this event. Companies that can access the right capital and expertise are better positioned to develop new products, enter international markets and create jobs. We would love to showcase opportunities in our region, says Charlotte Hartvigsen Lem in Invest in Vestland.