Eksfin opens new regional office in Bergen
- Having Eksfin on site makes it easier to connect companies with the right support at the right stage. This is particularly relevant for businesses that are moving from innovation and development into investment, scaling and international markets, also including companies that move here to be part of an export value chain, says Charlotte Hartvigse Lem at Invest in Vestland.
Eksfin is a state-owned administrative enterprise that manages Norway’s public export-financing schemes, providing loans and guarantees, and opened its new regional office last week. The office is co-located at Media City, at the same location as Innovation Norway. The new operation is also intended to strengthen Eksfin’s cooperation with local banks and businesses, where Lars Ole Onarheim Hauge will work with companies and financial institutions across the region.
Lars Ole Onarheim Hauge is Eksfin’s representative in Vestland. Photo: Eksfin.
Norway’s main export region
For companies in Vestland, the presence of Eksfin means easier access to state-backed loans and guarantees when they are investing, scaling up and pursuing opportunities in international markets.
Vestland is Norway’s largest export county, with exports worth NOK 235 billion in 2024, excluding oil and gas. The region has strong positions in maritime industries, energy and seafood, while new export opportunities are emerging in areas including offshore wind, hydrogen, green maritime solutions and health.
These businesses often need substantial capital to grow. Eksfin provides loans and guarantees on behalf of the Norwegian state and works alongside commercial banks to make financing available for Norwegian export projects. Its presence in Bergen therefore adds an instrument that can be particularly relevant when companies move from development to commercialisation and international growth.
The ecosystem in Vestland gathered to celebrate the opning of the new office. Photo: Charlotte H. Lem.
A more connected support system
Eksfin’s arrival comes into an established regional ecosystem that includes Innovation Norway, Invest in Vestland, municipalities, research and innovation environments, financial institutions and industry clusters.
- The office also strengthens the links between the organisations that make up Vestland’s business support system. Eksfin’s expertise in export finance complements the work of all of the actors in the bsiness-support organisations, says Lem.
Co-locating Eksfin with Innovation Norway is a practical example of how these organisations can work more closely around companies with international ambitions. The two organisations already support many of the same businesses, while providing different forms of support. Eksfin has described the co-location as a way of making it easier for companies to meet both organisations and be referred to the right one.
The establishment of the Bergen office follows a joint effort by Vestland County Municipality, Bergen Municipality and Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry to attract the office to the region. The decision reflects both the scale of Vestland’s export economy and the concentration of relevant businesses, banks and expertise in the region and why the County Major Jon Askeland was happy to officially open the new office.
