Summary

Ferd Social Entrepreneurs (FSE) invests in social entrepreneurs with measurable social impact and the potential for financial sustainability. Beyond capital, we provide networks and expertise while working to strengthen their market. Through close collaboration with clear goals and milestones, we help companies grow and create even greater societal impact. 

The past year was marked by economic uncertainty, partly driven by high interest rates and inflation. Social entrepreneurs have had to adapt to a challenging economic climate, with some needing to adjust their strategies. The challenging economic situation also impacted municipal finances, making access to public markets more difficult. Nevertheless, social entrepreneurs continue to impress with their ability to support each other, share knowledge, and find new opportunities. 

In 2024, we strengthened our collaboration with portfolio companies, prioritising close follow-up and increased cross-portfolio cooperation to create strong synergies.  

Collaboration with leading service providers remains a vital resource for our portfolio companies. The law firm Schjødt provided a significant volume of pro bono legal support in 2024, which has been invaluable to many companies. Sopra Steria enhanced the portfolio’s competence through both pro bono work and professional training. McKinsey contributed strategic support to both FSE and one of our portfolio companies. PA Consulting recently assisted one of our portfolio companies’ pro bono with a technology-related strategic project. 

Through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and strategic support, we are collectively building a stronger ecosystem for social entrepreneurs. 

Market situation

The Norwegian economy tightened further in 2024, affecting both households and public finances. While awareness of the challenges facing vulnerable groups is growing, municipal budget cuts are making it harder to secure funding for innovative solutions in the public sector. 

However, there are positive trends for social entrepreneurs and impact investors, particularly regarding global sustainability efforts and the push to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and comply with the Paris Agreement. Over half of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals address social issues, underscoring their importance in achieving environmental goals. The EU has allocated significant funds for social fund investments and is working to include social impact in the new taxonomy. 

Despite challenging market conditions, interest in double- and triple-bottom-line investments is growing. More private and institutional investors, as well as foundations, are increasingly financing a growing number of social entrepreneurs. We see growing competition in both supply and demand, indicating a rapidly maturing market. This reinforces our belief that the professionalising of social entrepreneurs will improve market conditions, increase access to funding, foster sustainable businesses, and amplify social impact. 

Portfolio 

Some of the highlights from 2024 were the investment in Den Sociale Kapitalfond Invest II K/S, the transition to an alumni position for Generasjon M, and an exit in No Isolation. At the end of 2024, FSE had ten companies in the portfolio, four fund investments, and four Social Impact Bonds.  

Direct Investments  

auticon is an international provider of IT services that employs individuals with autism as consultants. In 2023, the company merged with the Norwegian company Unicus, together forming the world’s largest company where the majority of employees are on the autism spectrum. In 2024, the company launched “Neuroinclusion Services” in several countries. Neuroinclusion Services helps clients create an inclusive workplace where neurodivergent individuals feel valued. 

Forskerfabrikken works to increase children’s awareness of how technology and research impact themselves, society, and nature. They achieve this by spreading enthusiasm and understanding of science subjects to children across the country and providing them with the opportunity to explore these subjects within their own communities. 

Gammel Nok provides staffing solutions, practical services, and home-based care to clients in the private and public sectors, delivered by personnel over the age of 50. The company employs more than 400 seniors and is headquartered in Asker. In 2022, they expanded into the Hamar region and Østfold.  

GET Academy offers young people outside the labor market vocational education, providing them with sought-after skills as IT developers. Over the course of 20 weeks, they receive intensive training in coding and programming, followed by a year of practical experience in a company under close supervision. 

Impact StartUp, see separate section below. 

KLAR Kompetanse has developed a digital training tool that provides multilingual individuals with an introduction to the professional language used in schools and the workplace. The goal is to increase the number of people completing vocational secondary education and entering the workforce. The company targets county municipalities, secondary schools, adult education, and trainers within vocational training. 

Lifetools has developed the digital communication tool KnowMe, which helps highly vulnerable people without verbal language to understand and be understood. The solution brings about clear positive life changes such as increased participation, expression, and inclusion in a community. 

Ludenso is an educational technology company that, with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) enriched textbooks, aims to increase engagement, mastery, and provide a more customised learning journey. The company has secured agreements with over 25 international publishers, including Cambridge University Press, Aschehoug, PG Online, and SAGE. 

Mindmore works for better brain health by offering digital tests that measure important aspects of cognitive function. Examples of this include memory, short-term memory, word comprehension, concentration, reaction time, mental speed, and problem-solving ability. 

Motitech offers an innovative motivational tool for the elderly and people with dementia to prevent injuries, improve health, and enhance quality of life. 

Fund investments  

The Autism Impact Fund invests in companies that develop new diagnostics and treatments for individuals with autism, neurodevelopmental disorders, mental health issues, and other complex chronic conditions. 

Mikrofonden describes themselves as Sweden’s largest and smallest social investor. The fund provides startup and growth capital to associations, cooperatives, and enterprises that create social value, allowing them to grow and become resilient businesses. Since their inception in 2010, they have invested in 135 different social companies, always with small micro-investments. 

Den Sociale Kapitalfond Invest I and II seek to create jobs for vulnerable groups in Denmark and deliver both financial and social returns. 

Social Impact Bonds 

Furthermore, in 2024, we continued following up on three previously invested Social Impact Bonds, in addition to entering a new contract with Fremtind and lyk-z. Social Impact Bonds, also called Social Outcome Contracts, represent an innovative way to deliver welfare services, involving collaboration between public authorities, private investors, and social entrepreneurs to tackle societal challenges. Investors finance new initiatives designed to achieve specific results, and the public sector only reimburses costs if the agreed outcomes are met. 

The agreement between Fremtind and lyk-z aims to reintegrate more young people currently receiving insurance payouts back into education or employment. The municipalities of Øvre Eiker and Lillehammer are working with SOS Children’s Villages to pilot a new service called Family Partner. So far, results have been promising, leading to repayments from the Social Impact Bonds. In four municipalities in Vestfold and Telemark, with Back in the Ring as a partner, the goal is to reduce repeat crime among young offenders. In Lier, the active phase of the Trygg av Natur contract has ended, and we will assess its impact on high school completion rates in 2025. 

Impact StartUp

Our subsidiary, Impact StartUp, has become Norway’s leading hub for startups addressing societal challenges. Impact StartUp provides social entrepreneurs with the knowledge, networks, and capital needed to boost their success. By 2024, its network included over 350 companies, with more than 100 joining the accelerator program since 2018. Impact StartUp has partnered with Wilstar Social Impact, Klaveness Foundation, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, Sparebankstiftelsen Østfold Akershus, Anthonstiftelsen, Stiftelsen Kaare Berg, and Deloitte. 

A key highlight of the year was the South Zero Accelerator, an entrepreneurship program in Søndre Nordstrand conducted for Oslo Municipality. The program demonstrated how impact startups can contribute to a sustainable, zero-emissions society. The initiative culminated in a founder event at Holmlia, where 300 participants—from local residents and aspiring entrepreneurs to established startups, investors, and partners—gathered to celebrate innovation and community. 

Impact StartUp has also taken over the screening of early-stage investment opportunities for FSE and is continuously developing methods for follow-up, documentation, and communication. This provides us with an even stronger foundation for identifying and supporting the most promising companies. 

The Oslo Initiative

In 2022, Ferd launched the Oslo Initiative, bringing together businesses, foundations, and public institutions to strengthen under-resourced areas of Oslo. This initiative is rooted in Ferd’s values and our long-standing historical, personal, and business ties to the city. Growing social disparities mean that society misses out on valuable talents, resources, and ideas important for the future. The Oslo Initiative aims to increase employment, boost school motivation, and ensure meaningful leisure activities for children and youth in Grorud, Stovner, Alna, and Søndre Nordstrand—four of Oslo’s most underserved districts. 

Our place-based projects in Ellingsrud, Mortensrud, Romsås, and Stovner aim to strengthen local communities. Simultaneously, we work to drive systemic change to ensure equitable sports opportunities, and better conditions for alternative education providers in Oslo. 

Ferd provides significant administrative and coordinating resources for the project and has supported 21 organisations through one-time grants and multi-year agreements. 

Organisation

In 2024, the FSE team consisted of eight employees. We focused on strengthening our expertise in two critical societal challenges, namely reducing school dropout rates and increasing labour force participation among vulnerable groups. These are areas where we have extensive experience and consider crucial for a more inclusive and sustainable society. We will continue to actively work on these focus areas in the coming years. 

At the same time, we have continued our work with innovative financial instruments for social investments and strengthened our expertise in place-based investments. 

Future prospects

We expect that 2025 will also be a challenging year for many, and we will continue to support our social entrepreneurs both individually and as a group. We will also continue working on impact management processes in our portfolio companies to clarify the link between activities, measurable results, lasting change, and societal impact. Each company has its own Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) plan, supporting them in their efforts to create positive social outcomes. 

Our hope is that the public sector will increasingly focus on social impact in its services and leverage public procurement power to create more social value and drive innovation. Increased expertise in this area will make it easier for companies with innovative solutions to collaborate with municipalities to develop better services. We believe that more Social Impact Bonds will be established between the public sector, service providers, social investors, and foundations in the future. With a strained economy, this type of bridge financing from social funds and investors is becoming increasingly important.  

We will also continue our efforts to inspire both the public and private sector to choose solutions with proven social impact through innovative procurement and cross-sector collaboration. The goal is to find and develop sustainable solutions to societal challenges, where the public sector and other stakeholders can achieve better results through cooperation.