Impact StartUps has selected ten Norwegian companies for its latest accelerator cohort, awarding each startup one million kroner in investment. The programme attracted well over 100 applicants, and organisers emphasised they are looking for founders who both address important societal challenges and build sustainable business models.
Organisers noted clear trends among this year’s applicants: work and inclusion remains the largest impact area, health—especially mental health—continues to be a major focus, and the share of startups working on circularity has nearly doubled. Nearly one in four applications concerned solutions aimed at getting more people into the workforce or preventing long-term sick leave. The accelerator said it favours companies that tackle problems early, for example addressing economic stress before it escalates, and those that solve real problems people are willing to pay to fix.