New investor network will boost seafood sector

Hatch, a venture capital company, has entered a strategic partnership with the law firm Thommessen, and is aiming to land a number of new investors in coming months.

"We want to offer investors the chance to join us in developing Norway's leading technology sector," says Tanja Hoel, leader of Hatch Innovation Services.

"Norway already has a leading position within seafood, and we have all the right conditions to build up a strong technology branch too."

"Hatch is already supporting investors worldwide to establish investment strategies and portfolios within aquaculture," she adds. "We hope that with our experience, we can inspire more Norwegian investors to turn to the seafood sector."

Greater Bergen's innovative seafood industry

It's no accident that Hatch chose to establish their Norwegian base in Bergen.

In a previous interview, one of the company's co-founders Georg Baunach stated that in Bergen there was "a mentality and an awareness about seafood and aquaculture we don’t find anywhere else.”

Watch the interview with Georg Baunach, co-founder at Hatch

The city is known as the "aquaculture capital" of Norway, and is home to the headquarters of many of the country's biggest salmon producers.

In addition to this, there is also a strong marine R&D environment and a thriving community of startups working on seafood technology.

This blue ecosystem is represented by the NCE Seafood Cluster organization, which is based in Bergen's Marineholmen quarter.

The innovative cluster has been steadily gaining attention both in Norway and internationally. Invest in Bergen has helped several foreign companies to establish a base in the city over the last few years, including Manolin, Aquabyte, WSense and of course Hatch themselves.

"Enormous interest from investors"

According to Mons Alfred Paulsen, Partner at Thommessen, the pace of development doesn't look like it will slow down any time soon.

"We are seeing an enormous interest in the seafood and aquaculture sectors from investors," says Paulsen.

"Merkur Markets has set a seafood record on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and we are seeing an exciting growth in the number of new technology companies being formed here in Norway."

"We are hoping that this partnership can help to attract more private capital into a branch where Norway has a global competitive advantage."

Hatch and Thommessen are planning a series of investor meetings next spring, across the cities of Bergen, Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø.

Over time, this new network could give an important boost to the development of the seafood industry in Bergen and elsewhere in Norway.

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