EIF invests €25 million in Norway’s Credo Partners to fuel digitalisation and decarbonisation of Scandinavian businesses

• EIF pledges €25 million to fund Credo III to advance digitalisation, decarbonisation and sustainable business models in Scandinavia
• Credo Partners has specialised in transforming local technology and business services companies into industry leaders 
• Backed by InvestEU programme, operation underscores EIB Group’s commitment to sustainable economic growth

Luxembourg/Oslo, 23 January 2025: A range of Scandinavian companies will be able to finance digital and green projects as a result of a NOK 286 million (€25 million) pledge by the European Investment Fund (EIF) to the private equity fund Credo III. The fund is managed by Oslo-based Credo Partners.

The support from the EIF, which is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, for Credo III aims to bolster small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Credo III will invest in SMEs seeking digital advances, industrial decarbonisation and environmental sustainability.

"Through our partnership with Credo III, we are reaffirming our support for the region’s ambitious climate and sustainability goals," said EIB Group Vice-President Thomas Östros. "This investment will enable Scandinavian SMEs to lead the way in digitalisation and decarbonisation, fostering innovation and creating lasting economic impact."

Credo has built several successful growth platforms within business services and technology that contribute to improving typical Scandinavian industries, such as the energy and industrials. Credo’s investment edge is identifying locally established SMEs and applying the right growth platform and the right team to enable scalability.

Credo III targets a total fund size of NOK 1 billion and aims to back seven to eight SMEs with NOK 100 million to NOK 200 million investments. Over half of the target fund size has been committed by investors since its launch in the fourth quarter of 2024. The fund has already made its three first investments; two IT service businesses focusing on data/machine learning (Antire) and cyber security (Sicra) and one engineering company in the maritime segment. These companies illustrate the kind of SMEs Credo invests in, each of which will contribute to driving innovation and developing sustainable business models.

“By bringing EIF on board as an investor, we connect European capital to local business, and together we will create industry leaders with real impact,” said Gudmund Killi, Managing Partner of Credo Partners. “Our focus on B2B services and technology is particularly well suited to enable digitalisation and decarbonisation. There are many attractive service providers to energy, renewables and industrials in Scandinavia, where we can help grow their business and thereby their impact.”

The fund's strategy builds on predecessors Credo I and II. Credo specialises in transforming local companies into industry leaders with scalable business models, often creating entirely new market players through its effective "buy-and-build" model. Credo often operates below the radar of traditional private equity, and usually as the first institutional owner.

The agreement also highlights the EIF’s commitment to climate action and economic resilience, aligning with the EIB Group’s Climate Bank Roadmap and the European Union’s goals under the InvestEU initiative.

“EIF’s backing to Credo III is an excellent example of how the InvestEU programme continues to enable increased financing to green and digital projects that are essential to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and resilience”, said EU ambassador to Norway Nicolas de La Grandville. “We welcome this partnership’s contribution to finding common solutions to our shared challenges through investments into technology, sustainability and decarbonisation.”

Background

EIF

The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. It supports Europe’s SMEs by improving their access to finance through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries. The EIF designs, promotes and implements equity and debt financing instruments targeting SMEs. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, research and development, the green and digital transitions and employment.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable economy. It helps generate additional investments in line with EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. This guarantee increases their risk-bearing capacity, thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Credo
Credo Partners is a Norwegian investment firm, specializing in transforming local, Scandinavian companies into scalable leaders within B2B services and technology. The company was founded in 2003, and the Credo team built a unique entrepreneurial and operational edge through its initial years as management-for-hire for business turnarounds, and through investing and building businesses themselves case-by-case. Credo’s partnership model is tailor-made to scale up founder- and family-owned businesses, by leveraging deep operational expertise and by applying industry-specific business architecture and blueprints for profitable growth. Over the past decade, Credo has made 20 investments and completed over 75 strategic add-on acquisitions, often creating entirely new market positions and growth platforms.

Press contacts:

EIB Group:                      Thomas Eriksson | t.eriksson@ext.eib.org

EU Delegation:               Savannah Vellandi | savannah.vellandi@eeas.europa.eu | +47 93 20 48 12

Credo Partners:             Gudmund Killi | killi@credopartners.no | +47 924 53 300