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Norway home to 1 in 10 fast-growing tech firms

Fifty of the 500 fastest-growing tech companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are based in Norway, according to a ranking by analysts at global consulting firm Deloitte.

Published: 3 December 2015 10:13 CET

Norway home to 1 in 10 fast-growing tech firms

Clean Marine's exhaust cleaning system has made it the fastest growing tech company in Norway. Photo: Clean Marine

Norwegian cleantech company Clean Marine, whose hybrid exhaust gas cleaning system is helping to cut maritime emissions, was named the eighth fastest-growing tech company in the newly-released 2015 Technology Fast 500 report.

The Lysaker-based company has grown by a whopping 7,260 percent according to the report, making it the highest-ranking Norwegian firm on the list.

Olso company Etrinell, which specializes in investments and developments within the IT sector, was two spots behind at number ten with 6,033 percent growth.

As a whole, Norway had a full 50 companies on the list, making it the third best represented country behind France and the United Kingdom and two spots ahead of Nordic neighbour Sweden.

The list was topped by Catawiki, a growing online auction house based in the Netherlands, which saw its turnover increasing by 45,000 percent.

“Achieving a position in the EMEA Fast 500 is always an impressive feat but the rates of growth for this year are particularly inspiring,” said David Cobb, partner-in-charge of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500TM EMEA programme in a press statement.

“These results highlight the strength and determination of the Technology sector across this region with a clear indication of some of our business leaders of the future.”

Norwegian software companies Camo Software and Front Systems also reached the top 50 on the list, while a total of 12 companies cracked the top 100.

France dominated the rankings with the most entries, for the sixth year in a row, while Israel celebrated having two entries in the top five. Four entries in the top 10 came from the UK.

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Danish government party demands ban on messaging app Telegram

Abuse in the form of “shaming” (Danish: udskamning) is frequently directed at women with Middle Eastern backgrounds within large Danish groups on the app, and the Social Democrats therefore want it blocked in the country, equality minister Trine Bramsen and Mayor of Odense Peter Rahbek Juel said in an interview with newspaper Berlingske earlier this week.

“We have unfortunately seen some terrible examples and a lot of examples of the social media Telegram in particular being used to humiliate young ethnics [minorities, ed.] – particularly young women – and to shame them, well aware that it could have the consequence that their families exclude them or even do worse,” Bramsen said to news wire Ritzau.

The party also wants to clamp down on videos that intentionally provoke “negative social control”, they also said.

The Social Democrats have long held that people from minority backgrounds who live in Denmark can be subjected to social control, for example by parents, families or peer groups, which prevents them from fully engaging in society.

Bramsen and Juel said that criminal punishments should be raised for sharing images or videos where there is an “expectation” that they could result in “serious consequences related to negative social control”.

The party shared what it considers to be some of the offending content with Berlingske. It said this was posted by “apparently Danish boys and girls as well as young people with non-Danish ethnic heritage”. The examples come from a Telegram group with over 10,000 members.

Bramsen said that a ban Telegram would “to a greater degree” be an EU matter, but that she still wants to block the app in Denmark as soon as possible.

“Against other types of … illegal content, it’s possible to put up some filters. It will be a case for the courts in the end. But we must, through legislation, ensure that the right laws are in place,” she said.

“I don’t think we can look the other way as platforms are used for crime again and again and put young people’s lives in danger,” she said.

“You can ask yourself the obvious question of whether we should transfer the same legislation that applies in the physical world where you can close places down and apply bans on assembling at places where crime is repeatedly committed,” she said.

Telegram was launched in Russia in 2013.

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