Norway has long been among the major donors to Ukraine, and now some of the wealthiest Norwegians are taking that support further. They’re actively investing in Ukraine’s defense industry, convinced that private capital can make a valuable contribution to Ukraine’s own defense, Europe’s security, and eventually generate profits as well.
Brewery heir and real estate investor Christian Ringnes, salmon producer Gustav Witzøe and business investor Johan H Andresen are among those involved in a new investment fund that targets Ukrainian companies specializing in drone technology and other defense projects. The more than 20 investors and companies contributing to the fund represent sectors from finance and commercial property to shipping and the offshore industry.
The goal is to help promising start-up companies within Ukraine’s defense sector not only succeed but be profitable in the long run. “This is Norwegian private capital that in fact will extend all the way to the front line,” Ukrainian government minister Oleksii Sobolev told Oslo-based newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). He’s in charge of economic, environmental and agricultural issues in the country that’s been fending off Russian aggression for more than four years.
“Norway is already one of Ukraine’s most important supporters,” Sobolev told DN. The new Norwegian investment fund called Gardar “opens a new channel for engagement, through private Norwegian capital that chooses to invest in Ukraine for commercial purposes.”
The war-torn country’s defense industry can benefit, after Gardar singled out four companies that aren’t being identified for security reasons but specialize in drone defense, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence on the battlefield. “That kind of investing isn’t only measured in terms of (financial) returns, but also in saving lives and keeping territory under Ukrainian control,” Sobolev said.
All the Norwegian investors involved were already major contributors to the Norwegian organization Fritt Ukraina (Free Ukraine), which has been raising funds for everything from vehicles to both defense- and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Among them was telecoms entrepreneur and investor Erlend Prestgard, who’s now leading the Gardar investment fund initiative.
“It was meaningful to donate cars and trucks for the front line,” Prestgard told DN, but when he heard about a Ukrainian anti-drone enterprise and the economics around it, he thought he could contribute much more. “Building up companies is something I know about,” he said.
The investment venture began by raising funds pro bono for the anti-drone company, with around 60-70 friends and family contributing to a sort of investment club for it. Then they “scaled up,” reported DN, by searching for more promising companies in Ukraine, attracting fewer investors willing to provide larger amounts, and settling on the four (our of around 150) companies now receiving Norwegian private capital. And then all involved agreed it was time, Prestgard said, to form a “proper” fund and work on it full-time.
While there’s clearly a “feel good” initiative behind it all, the investors intend to earn on their investments in addition to contributing to security. “I’ve always thought the private sector should take on risk that other’s can’t,” said Johan Andresen, who leads the socially minded Oslo-based investment firm Ferd. “Now the security situation is such that we should contribute to improving Europe’s security by investing in the defense technology that’s being developed in Ukraine. If we succeed at that, profits will follow.”
Peter Frolich, who leads the Norwegian Parliament’s foreign affairs- and defense committee, has helped drive donated vehicles to Ukraine and been active with Fritt Ukraina since the war began. He welcomes the new private investment in Ukraine and stresses that there’s a “firewall” between the new fund and Fritt Ukraina.
“If they’re lucky and earn profits that’s fine, because they’re willing to reinvest in technology that can also benefit Norway,” Frolich, who represents the Conservative Party in Parliament, told DN. “This group (of wealthy Norwegian investors) has already shown that they have big hearts. They view this (their investments) as a contribution to something bigger, and such help has a different effect than receiving gifts. It unleashes positive strengths in the entire Ukrainian community.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
