In the premises of the Siva Innovation Centre – which previously went by the name Forskningsparken – there are large office spaces where great and important knowledge is developed into new, and some vital, products.

Siva Innovation Centre is operated by Norinnova . It is a Northern Norwegian innovation company that is engaged in business development and helps researchers and entrepreneurs develop their ideas into products with international potential.  

 "We are designed to refine research and be a tool for developing growth companies that create jobs in the region," says Asbjørn Lilletun, director of Norinnova .

From the premises of Siva Innovation Centre, Norinnova helped around 300 companies, which in turn has created about 1,000 jobs. There have been companies in everything from medicine to satellite communication that have been started in Tromsø.

"Some of the 1,000 jobs have probably disappeared, but we have helped create jobs in more places than in Tromsø. For example, the company Ayanda has had up to 200 employees with a factory at Andenes and elsewhere in the world, so what we do has ripple effects in several places," says Lilletun.

Norinnova is one of a total of 33 Siva incubators in Norway, which means that the companies associated with the incubator also have access to Siva's large national network.

Siva Innovation Centre in Breivika now has vacant office space for rent for all types of companies.

Medicine that saves lives

Norinnova closely monitors research from the university and whether there is anything that can be developed further into new products. One of the companies that they are proud to have helped out is Prohylix Pharma, which was started based on the research of Bjørn Skogen and UiT rector Anne Husebekk, among others.

–They have developed a method to prevent the rare and life-threatening bleeding disease FNAIT, which affects newborns. Now the commercial rights to the treatment developed by the Tromsø company have just been sold to an American company and it is expected that in a few years it will be expected to offer prevention of this disease, affecting the lives of families all over the world. It is an example that our work to help companies is very rewarding and meaningful work," says Lilletun.

Has collected 1 billion

The companies that come to Norinnova get help for everything they need to grow as a business. Researchers often have a lot of knowledge about a field, while Norinnova has extensive experience with decisive factors related to the start-up and development of enterprises.

"We are a carefully assembled team of 20 people and we need to be able to help in many different phases. We need to be able to understand a researcher and the detailed work the researcher does. We have companies working with molecules or enzymes and we need to understand how we can take this knowledge further. Our goal is to bring it further to the market and then we must also understand the market and what is required to get there," explains Lilletun, continuing:

GOOD HELP: From the premises at Siva Innovation Centre has Norinnova around 300 companies.  

"We must also raise money for the development of both product and company. We have broad experience in obtaining public instruments, but we have also gained a network of private investors. In total, more than NOK 1 billion has been invested in companies Norinnova . Our ability to raise money is one of the main reasons why our customers want to work with us," says Lilletun.

From one man to global company

Among the 300 companies that have been started up at Siva Innovation Centre, Norinnova helped someone to grow up.

"Tromsø company Dualog has developed into a global company that provides solutions for communication between land and sea. It all started with an idea of how to transfer catch data from fishing boats to shore and an ambition to succeed internationally. Now Dualog has become a company that operates all over the world, but still with ambitions for further growth," says Lilletun.

Companies wishing to rent premises at Siva Innovation Centre can find contact information at the bottom of the case.

In recent months there are two tromsø companies that are in a very exciting phase. Pazzing is developing a new type of mobile game – a mix between Escape Rooms and Pokémon Go – where users have to solve rebuses while out and about. The company has just been through an investor round where they have brought in more investors and three million in capital and will hire more.

Keenious is another company originating from Norinnova , who have developed a completely new method where they use a search engine and analyze text so that students and researchers can more easily find relevant articles. They recently received NOK 21 million in an innovation contract and are now increasing from two to nine employees.

"For 30 years, Norinnova helped promising start-ups grow and create new innovative jobs in the region. It's fantastic to see when they succeed," says Lilletun.

Helping each other

Annual help Norinnova between 25 and 30 start-ups to realise their global ambitions. Several of these share an office with Norinnova at Siva Innovation Centre. The new office space is specially adapted for a social environment where it is easy to meet.

"We want everyone who works here to interact with each other and that the threshold for taking advantage of each other's experiences should be low. We have a common dining room and have lunch together. It's a very nice place to be to connect and learn from each other," says Lilletun.