“Approximately 15 people in the first week”, says Fabian Aaberg Andersen, when asked how many have visited the house for innovation since the opening Monday December 7.
Andersen, a trainee at the innovation company Innoventus Sør, which is responsible for the Greenhouse, encourages entrepreneurs, innovators – anyone with a good idea – to stop by. The Greenhouse is open on a daily basis between 8 am and noon in December.
“We accept drop-ins, or you could call to book a meeting or fill out our contact form”, says Andersen.
The initiative for the greenhouse, with approximately 1,200 square meters of office space, comes from oil entrepreneur Bjarne Skeie and technology cluster GCE NODE. The idea is backed by the largest industrial companies and banks in southern Norway, in addition to Vest-Agder County and Kristiansand Municipality.
“We cannot sit idly by and watch as companies let talented people go. We must try to keep the expertise in the region. Some of those who are now laid off have ideas we should help develop and grow. This is a house for competent people with great ideas. We will provide them with professional and practical support and connect them to funding sources that will help them create new jobs in our region”, says Bjarne Skeie, serial entrepreneur in the oil & gas industry.
“This will be a house for innovation! Some of those who move in here may have just lost their jobs in the oil sector, but this is a house for anyone with a good idea. In collaboration with the innovation system, Innoventus Sør will help entrepreneurs determine the potential market of their idea”, says Kamilla Sharma, managing director at Innoventus Sør.
The Greenhouse is located in Lumberveien 47/49 in Kristiansand. It has the capacity to serve as an office space for approximately 100 people.
Read more about the Greenhouse
Supporters of the Greenhouse:
- Vest-Agder county
- Kristiansand municipality
- National Oilwell Varco Norway
- Skeie Technology
- DNB
- Nordea
- Sparebanken Sør
- MHWirth
- Cameron
- GCE NODE
- Innoventus Sør
