Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS

What Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS does

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS (KPH) is a regional innovation services company headquartered in Mo i Rana, Nordland, Norway, founded in 2002 and operating as one of SIVA's national network of innovation companies. KPH provides advisory services, network and cluster facilitation, training programs, and EU project management to startups, established businesses, industry clusters, and public sector entities across the Helgeland region. The company merged with Inkubator Helgeland in 2016, adding formal startup incubation to its mandate.

The company's core portfolio centers on the Inkubator-programmet (advising, network access, capital, and office facilities for entrepreneurs), supplemented by managed industry clusters (Arctic Cluster Team with 100+ partners in process industry sustainability; Ocean Cluster Helgeland with 43 suppliers and NOK 6B turnover in offshore wind and aquaculture), cross-sector projects (Reiseliv Helgeland tourism 2025-2028, Matkultursenter Helgeland food culture, Arven energy tourism, Skole-Arbeidsliv school-to-work, Heile Helgeland regional attractiveness), and EU advisory services for Horizon Europe and EDIH Oceanopolis digitalization programs. It also operates Trainee Helgeland (240 graduates placed since 2009), the Videocation digital course platform, and Campus Helgeland meeting room rentals.

KPH's revenue model is predominantly project-grant driven from Norwegian public sources (Nordland Fylkeskommune, SIVA, Innovasjon Norge, Forskningsrådet), EU programs (Horizon Europe, NORA, EmpowerUs), and regional partners (SpareBank1 Helgeland), supplemented by modest course fees (NOK 350 to NOK 38,000 per attendee) and facility rental. The company maintains three offices across Mo i Rana (headquarters), Mosjøen, and Brønnøysund, employs 28 people, and is led by CEO Gøran Brede Busch (permanent from March 2026). Distribution is direct and field-based, with business developers traveling to client sites across the region.

Name

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS

Legal name

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS

Website

https://kph.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS is a 28-employee regional innovation services company in northern Norway that provides startup incubation, industry cluster management, EU project advisory, and training programs to businesses, clusters, and public sector entities across the Helgeland region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Innovation and Business Incubation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)

Keywords

• Regional innovation services
• Business incubation programs
• Industry cluster management
• EU advisory services
• Competence development training

Headquarters

HQ city

Mo i Rana

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. EU and Government Project Funding: Kunnskapsparken Helgeland receives significant funding from EU programs (Horizon Europe, Nordic Atlantic Cooperation, EDIH Oceanopolis), Norwegian government sources (Nordland Fylkeskommune, Innovasjon Norge, SIVA, Forskningsrådet), and regional partners. These funds support various projects including innovation clusters, digitalization initiatives, and regional development.
2. Course and Training Fees: The company generates revenue through various educational courses and training programs offered to businesses and individuals, including digital courses (from 350 NOK), process leadership courses (38,000 NOK), economics courses (2,500 NOK), and board courses (2,900 NOK).
3. Meeting Room and Facility Rental: Revenue from renting meeting rooms and educational spaces at Campus Helgeland, including Dagbruddet (2,500 NOK/day), Hjerneverket, and 66°Nord video conference room (2,000 NOK/day).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland is a regional innovation company that delivers business incubation, cluster and network facilitation, EU funding advisory, trainee programs, and competence development courses to startups, established companies, industry clusters, and public sector organizations in the Helgeland region of Norway. It also operates Campus Helgeland meeting and training facilities available for rent.

Product overview

Kunnskapsparken Helgeland is a regional innovation company offering a portfolio of interconnected business development services. The core offering is the Inkubator-programmet (incubator program), providing advising, network access, capital, and office facilities to help entrepreneurs and companies grow. This core is complemented by industry cluster leadership (Arctic Cluster Team, Ocean Cluster Helgeland, Festivalnettverk Helgeland), EU advisory services, trainee programs, and specialized projects across tourism (Reiseliv Helgeland), school-to-work transitions (Skole-Arbeidsliv), regional attractiveness (Heile Helgeland), energy tourism (Arven), digital innovation (EDIH Oceanopolis), and circular economy (Theseus Hub4Circularity, EmpowerUs). Supporting infrastructure includes meeting room rentals at Campus Helgeland and the Videocation digital course platform. The company also facilitates the Trainee Helgeland program and is developing the Matkultursenter Helgeland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inkubator-programmet (Incubator Program) Business incubation service that helps entrepreneurs and established companies in Helgeland move from idea to growth, providing advising, network introductions, capital guidance and office facilities.
• Arctic Cluster Team (ACT) Industry cluster service covering 100+ partners focused on sustainable transition of the process industry, zero emissions and green value chains in Northern Norway.
• Ocean Cluster Helgeland Maritime cluster service covering 43 suppliers and knowledge actors with 2,000 employees and 6 billion NOK combined turnover, focused on offshore wind, offshore aquaculture and other ocean industries.
• Festivalnettverk Helgeland Network coordination service for eight festivals on Helgeland working on sustainable festivals and cultural experiences, supported by Innovasjon Norge and SpareBank1 Helgeland.
• EU rådgiver (EU Advisor) Advisory service helping Helgeland businesses and organizations access Horizon Europe funding and navigate international partnerships for research and innovation projects.
• Trainee Helgeland Regional trainee placement program placing higher-education graduates in one-year positions with Helgeland employers to address regional competence needs.
• Heile Helgeland Regional attractiveness service that promotes Helgeland as a place to live, work and thrive through job opportunity showcases, real stories and social meeting places.
• Reiseliv Helgeland Tourism development service delivered with Visit Helgeland to help Helgeland tourism businesses become more sustainable with more year-round jobs, covering digital accessibility, sustainability and community development.
• Skole-Arbeidsliv (School-Work Collaboration) School-to-work service that connects schools and employers in Helgeland through career days, innovation camps and company visits to grow regional workforce pipelines.
• Arven (Energy Tourism Competence Center) National competence center service for energy tourism using Norway's energy heritage—power plants, dams and energy landscapes—with Øvre Forsland power station as flagship exhibition.
• EDIH Oceanopolis (European Digital Innovation Hub) Digital innovation hub service providing businesses and the public sector with access to digitalization services including mentorship, partner search, financing guidance and specialist days.
• Campus Helgeland Møterom (Meeting Rooms) Rental of meeting rooms, teaching rooms and the 66°Nord video conference room at Campus Helgeland in Mo i Rana, accommodating groups of up to 26 people.
• Matkultursenter Helgeland Planned food and nutrition experience and learning center for children, youth and adults, to be established centrally in Mo i Rana.
• EmpowerUs EU-funded service making coastal communities resilient, inclusive and sustainable, with Træna as the Norwegian pilot community.
• Theseus Hub4Circularity EU-funded Horizon Europe service developing circular solutions and industrial-urban symbioses across Europe, with a regional hub in Nordland collaborating with Attica, Greece.
• Videocation (Digital Courses) Online course service offering more than 350 Norwegian courses across categories including Excel, AI, leadership, marketing, sustainability and economics, with courses starting from 350 NOK.

Quantifiable outcome

• 240 young people with higher education have started careers on Helgeland through Trainee program since 2009
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EDIH OceanopoliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Digital Innovation Hub providing digital transformation services to businesses and public sector. KPH is a key partner in this EU-funded initiative providing 24-hour mentorship, partner search, and financing guidance services.
• Arctic Cluster Team (ACT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry cluster with 100+ partners focused on sustainable transition of process industry. KPH provides operational management and project execution for the cluster.
• Ocean Cluster HelgelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCluster of 43 suppliers and knowledge actors with 2000 employees and 6 billion NOK turnover, focused on new maritime industries including offshore wind and aquaculture.
• SINTEF HelgelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in Theseus Hub4Circularity EU project, working with KPH on circular industrial solutions in the Nordland region.
• Nord UniversitetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity providing competence offerings and collaboration on education and research initiatives in the region.
• UIT Norges Arktiske UniversitetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArctic university providing research collaboration and education partnerships.
• Norsk IndustricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry organization collaborating with KPH through Prosess 2030 network and ACT cluster for mobilization towards Horizon Europe participation.
• NordlandsforskningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institution that is project owner for EmpowerUs, with KPH serving as project manager for the Træna pilot.
• NORCEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute partner in EDIH Oceanopolis providing digital innovation services.
• Mechatronics Innovation LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation laboratory partner in EDIH Oceanopolis network for technology and digitalization services.
• Visit HelgelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDestination management company collaborating with KPH on Reiseliv Helgeland project for tourism development.
• Trainee NordlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaboration with other trainee programs in Nordland: Look North, Trainee Narvikregionen and Trainee Salten.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Innovasjon Norge: Norway's national innovation agency providing funding, advisory services, and cluster programs to businesses across Norway. Highly comparable to KPH's mandate but operating at a national scale, making it both a funder of KPH and a broader incumbent offering overlapping advisory services.

Others

• Nordlandsforskning: Nordland-based regional research institute collaborating with KPH as project owner on the EmpowerUs EU project. Functions as a research partner rather than direct competitor, but is comparable in scale and public-funding dependency, and could be considered an adjacent peer in the regional innovation ecosystem.
• SIVA (Selskapet for Industrivekst): The Norwegian government's industrial development company that operates the national network of innovation companies (innovasjonsselskaper) of which KPH is a member. SIVA both governs and funds KPH, serving as the parent network rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• StartupLab: Oslo-based startup accelerator and incubator providing structured programs to Norwegian tech startups. Comparable to KPH's Inkubator-programmet at larger scale and with more tech-sector focus, making it a direct operating peer in the Norwegian incubator space.
• Connect Norge: Norwegian cluster-management and innovation-network organization supporting cluster programs and SME growth across Norway. Comparable to KPH's cluster leadership for ACT and Ocean Cluster Helgeland, and operates the same cluster-development methodology nationally.
• Stavanger Science Park: SIVA-affiliated innovation park in Stavanger offering incubator services, accelerator programs, and cluster management focused on energy, mobility, and smart city verticals. Comparable to KPH's role managing ACT and Ocean Cluster in Helgeland, with a similar model of cluster leadership tied to a regional industry base.
• Visit Helgeland: Destination management company that KPH collaborates with on the Reiseliv Helgeland tourism project. Functions as a strategic delivery partner for tourism-related regional development, with a comparable mandate of building sustainable regional industry in Helgeland.
• Norinnova (Tromsø): Regional innovation company in Tromsø operating an incubator, technology transfer office, and cluster programs in Northern Norway. Sibling SIVA-network innovation company with a structurally identical mandate of business incubation, EU advisory, and cluster facilitation, but serving the Troms region rather than Helgeland.
• Forskningsparken (Oslo): Oslo Science Park — a SIVA-affiliated innovation park offering incubator services, lab facilities, and cluster programs to startups and research institutions. Comparable to KPH's Campus Helgeland concept at significantly larger scale, making it a direct operating peer and a benchmark for what a mature SIVA innovation park looks like.
• Kunnskapsparken Bodø: SIVA-affiliated innovation company in Bodø (Nordland county) offering incubator services, EU advisory, and cluster programs. The closest geographic peer to KPH — both operate within Nordland and serve overlapping public-sector and SME customers, making them quasi-rivals for the same regional development mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KunnskapsparkenHelgeland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kunnskapsparken-helgeland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kunnskapsparken Helgeland AS