Seed Forum originates from the first local Campus Kjeller Seed Forum in Norway in 2001, and has since then grown from a local process in Norway to a global network and organisation with activitites on all continents. A continuous evolvement of Seed Forum as a best practice since 2001 is emphasizing the need of a strong cross-boarder financial market place to access private equity funding for start-ups and SMEs. Seed Forum is recognised as an export process from the Norwegian innovation system and is after 15 years of existence annually bringing a great amount of investor ready born global companies to pitch to investors locally, nationally and overseas. The process has created a tremendous activity and enormous amount of investor leads for companies and investors.
The born global trend means that start-ups are also seeking equity investment from investors cross boarders, and many companies are also pitching in Seed Forums overseas as a part of a strategy to access new markets. When investors are investing into overseas companies they also often open their own network to bring the company into their market. This also proves that private equity investment is an important tool for many companies to access new markets.
Seed Forum has created spin-off concepts such as the iHUB accelerator concept, the establihsment of Business Angel Networks, tools for coimmercialisation of technologies and young entrepreneurhip training. Seed Forum is currently growing into a complete innovation system in more and more countries with activities beyond the original Seed Forum process. Seed Forum is currently the main tool and a model for regional development and the establishment of regional and national innovation systems in many countries.
Historic highlights
Spring 2002
- 1st Seed Forum London presenting companies from the Campus Kjeller Science Park in Norway in Trinity House in the CIty of London
Autumn 2002
- 2nd Seed Forum London presenting companies from the Oslo area
Spring 2003
- 3rd Seed Forum London presenting companies from all Norway in "Haraldssalen" in the Inn & Out Club in St. James
- Seed Forum Norway Entrepreneurs network is established
- Seed Forum Norway Foundation is established
- 1st Seed Forum Oslo in cooperation with Venture Lab
Spring 2004
- 1st Seed Forum Moscow
- 1st local Seed Forum in Kongsberg in Norway
- 1st local Seed Forum in Oslo
- 1st Seed Forum “Innlandet” at Gjøvik
- Seed Forum International Foundation is established in London
Autumn 2004
- 1st Seed Forum New York City
- Seed Forum Iceland Foundation (Sprotathing Iceland) is established
Spring 2005
- 1st Seed Forum Reykjavik
- 1st Seed Forum Bodø
- Seed Forum International Foundation taking responsibility for all international Seed Forum processes
- Seed Forum Norway Foundation moves to new premises in the IT Fornebu Science Park in Oslo
Autumn 2005
- Seed Forum Norway Entrepreneurs network is transferred into the Seed Forum International Entrepreneurs network working out of London
- The President of Iceland gives the opening remarks at the 2nd Seed Forum Reykjavik
- The President of Iceland participates in Seed Forum New York City
- Seed Forum London is hosted for the first time in The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Previous Lord Mayor of the City of London Sir Robert Finch gives the opening remarks.
- 1st Seed Forum in Stockholm
- The Lord Major of the City of London is mentioning Seed Forum as a major collaboration between Norway and the UK during his welcoming speech to the King & Queen of Norway in the official dinner in Guildhall
Spring 2006
- First Seed Forum Trondheim
- Conclusion of collaboration between the Seed Forum Norway Foundation and Innovation Norway regarding all local processes in Norway
- Seed Forum London is organized in Mansion House and the Lord Mayor of the City of London gives the opening remarks
- 1st Seed Forum Helsinki
- 1st Seed Forum Tallinn
- 1st Seed Forum Shanghai
- 1st local Seed Forum in Karlstad, Sweden
- The President of Iceland introduces the Seed Forum concept at Bessastadir in Iceland to the President of Nippon Keidanden – the Japanese Federation of Industries
Autumn 2006
- 1st Seed Forum Warsaw. The Deputy Minister of Economy of Poland, Mr. Andrzey, Kaczmarek, gives the opening remarks.
- 1st Seed Forum Minneapolis
- 1st Seed Forum Beijing
- 1st Seed Forum San Francisco (Palo Alto in Silicon Valley)
Spring 2007
- Previous Sherriff of the City of London, Mr. Geoffrey Bond, gives the opening remarks in Seed Forum London
- A national collaboration agreement for Norway is concluded between the Seed Forum Norway Foundation and the DNB bank
- 1st Seed Forum Copenhagen – Seed Forum is from now a complete Nordic Region process with forums in all Nordic Region capitals
Autumn 2007
- Previous Sherriff of the City of London: Mr. Nick Anstee, gives the opening remarks at Seed Forum London
- 1st local Seed Forum in Tromsø, Norway
Spring 2008
- Seed Forum Estonia Foundation is established
- Seed Forum Poland Foundation is established
- Seed Forum Latvia Foundation is established
- Innovation Norway completes a national evaluation of Seed Forum in Norway with very positive results
- Seed Forum London is hosted for the first time at the London Stock Exchange Previous Lord Mayor of the City of London, Sir John Stuttard, gives the opening remarks
- 1st Seed Forum Riga
- 1st Seed Forum Kyiv
- 1st Seed Forum Madrid
Autumn 2008
- 1st Seed Forum Hamburg
- 1st pitch training in Kyiv
- The Mayor of Tallinn, Mr. Toomas Vitsoot, is the host of the Seed Forum Tallinn evening reception in the Medieval City Hall in Tallinn
Spring 2009
- 1st pitch training in Copenhagen
- 1st pitch training in Stockholm
- 1st pitch training in Riga
- 1st pitch training in Tallinn
- 1st pitch training in Reykjavik
- 1st Seed Forum Ålesund
- Seed Forum Norway Foundation is the coordinator of the official visit to Norway of the President of the State Agency of Ukraine for Innovations and Investments, Mr. Victor Ivchenko
Autumn 2009
- The Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske, gives the opening remarks at Seed Forum Oslo (Vekstforum)
- The Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital Association, Mr. Eugene Wong, gives the opening remarks at Seed Forum Singapore
- The Deputy Mayor of the City of Kyiv, Mrs. Ludmilla Denitsiok, gives the opening remarks at Seed forum Kyiv
- 1st Seed Forum pitch training at the first Commercialization Reactor in Riga
Spring 2010
- Seed Forum Lithuania Foundation is established
- The Ukrainian Vice Minister of Education, Mr. Victor Ivchenko, opens Seed Forum in Kyiv
- 1st pitch training in Vilnius
- Seed Forum Oslo and Seed Forum Trondheim co-organized with the DnB Bank Innovation Award
- 1st Seed Forum in Vilnius
- The president of LIAA, Mr. Andris Ozols, gives the opening remarks at Seed Forum Riga
Autumn 2010
- Seed Forum Norway Foundation moves to new premises in Asker
- A renewed cooperation agreement is concluded between the Seed Forum Norway Foundation and the DNB bank
- 1st Seed forum global partner meeting in London
- Seed Forum Eastern Europe Foundation is established with responsibility to conduct the Seed Forum Process in the post-Soviet region
- 1st local Seed Forum in Steinkjer in Norway
- The Mayor of Trondheim, Mrs. Rita Otervik, gives the opening remarks at Seed Forum Hamburg
- 1st local Seed Forum in Kharkiv in Ukraine
Spring 2011
- Mr. Yuriy Boldyrev, Chairman of Sub Commission of finance of the Ukrainian Parliament opens Seed Forum Kyiv
- A national cooperation agreement is concluded between Seed Forum Norway and PwC
- 1st Seed Forum in Dubai
- 1st regional pitch training in Estonia in Tartu
- 1st regional pitch training in Latvia in Ventspils
- 1st regional pitch training in Lithuania in Kaunas
- 1st local Seed Forum in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
- 1st local pitch training and Seed Forum in Drammen in Norway
- 1st pitch training in Malmô
- 1st Seed Forum in Malmô hosted by Swedbank
Autumn 2011
- Establishment of the Seed Forum Ukraine Foundation
- Seed Forum is the coordinator of the official visit to Norway of the Secretary General of the Ukrainian Parliament to Norway
- Conclusion of the Seed Forum Interreg Home-Team Market project for the Central Baltic Area
- 1st pitch training in Valmiera, Latvia
- 1st pitch training in Pârnu. Estonia
- 1st pitch training in Klaipeda, Lithuania
- 1st Seed Forum in Abu Dhabi hosted at the Emirate Palace Hotel
- Seed Forum London conducted in the Butcher`s Livery Hall in the City of London. Previous Lord Mayor of the City of London Sir Robert Finch gives the opening remarks.
- Bilateral Letter of Intent of cooperation signed between SIVA (the Industrial Corporation of Norway) and the Seed Forum Ukraine Foundation
