What Strømmestiftelsen does

Strømmestiftelsen is a Norwegian development non-profit foundation (stiftelse) founded in 1976 and headquartered at Tangen 8 in Kristiansand, Norway. Ranked among Norway's ten largest aid organizations, the organization fights poverty in developing countries through three interconnected program pillars: education (Speed School accelerated learning, Hjertevenn child sponsorship, inclusive education for children with disabilities), economic empowerment (community savings and loan groups for women, life skills training including Samvad in Nepal and Bonga in Tanzania, green jobs via plastic recycling in Mali producing school desks), and civil society engagement (Act Now youth exchange, church-network mobilization, advocacy on Norwegian development policy). It operates field programs across 11 countries in West Africa, East Africa, and South/Southeast Asia, reaching 415,550 people in 2025 including 163,616 children under 18.

The core "technology" is methodological rather than software-based: Speed School is a proprietary accelerated-education curriculum with 20 years of validated results (9 of 10 children return to school in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger), with over one million children returned to formal schooling cumulatively. Green jobs combines physical manufacturing (plastic collection and desk production) with Norwegian technical partnerships from Returkraft, Norsk Gjenvinning, NGI, and Ingeniører Uten Grenser. The organization has no public-facing software product, API, or proprietary AI systems; digital infrastructure is limited to a donation platform, an online store for symbolic gifts (nettbutikk), a quarterly magazine (S-magasinet), and a digital storytelling site (stories.strommestiftelsen.no).

Strømmestiftelsen's revenue is dominated by institutional and donor funding rather than commercial sales. The largest disclosed stream is a 565 million NOK five-year grant from Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), announced in April 2024 as the largest public grant in the organization's history. Supplementary streams include monthly recurring individual donations (fast-givers) channeled via the website, Vipps (03002), and bank transfer; corporate partnerships (tiered at 2,500-10,000 NOK or custom amounts); testamentary bequests (3.9M NOK in 2021); cause-marketing products (e.g., Bonga shopping bags); online-store symbolic gift purchases; and major annual campaigns including NRK TV-aksjonen 2027, Operasjon Dagsverk, and the long-running Julekonsert Christmas concert series. The GTM motion is direct-to-supporter within Norwegian civil society, anchored in public campaigns, magazine readership, and church-network mobilization.

Name

Strømmestiftelsen

Legal name

Strømmestiftelsen

Website

https://strommestiftelsen.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Strømmestiftelsen is a Norwegian non-profit foundation founded in 1976 that fights poverty in 11 African and Asian countries through education (Speed School, Hjertevenn sponsorship), women's economic empowerment (savings groups), and green jobs in Mali, funded primarily by Norad grants and Norwegian individual donors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• International development aid
• Poverty alleviation programs
• Child education initiatives
• Community economic empowerment
• Humanitarian development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kristiansand

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Norwegian Government Grants (Norad): Major institutional funding from Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), the Norwegian government's development aid authority. Strømmestiftelsen received 565 million NOK from Norad over five years for poverty alleviation work in Asia and Africa. This is described as the largest public grant in the organization's history.
2. Individual Donations and Giving: Ongoing donations from individual Norwegian supporters, including single gifts and monthly recurring contributions. Donors can give via the website, Vipps (mobile payment), and bank transfer. Tax deductions are available for Norwegian donors. The organization runs periodic public fundraising campaigns including TV-aksjonen 2027.
3. Corporate and Business Partnerships: Companies partner with Strømmestiftelsen through financial contributions, cause marketing (e.g., Bonga shopping bags), and product sales. Corporate partners engage through dedicated business partnership programs, with some co-branded initiatives.
4. Testamentary Bequests and Legacies: The organization receives significant legacy gifts through wills and testaments. In 2020, approximately 3,011,287 NOK was received in testamentary gifts. In 2021, testamentary and occasion-based gifts totaled 3,931,893 NOK.
5. Product Sales (Gifts in Online Store): An online store (nettbutikk) sells symbolic gift items such as goats, solar lamps, and school desks. These are donation-backed gifts where the purchase price funds related development projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Strømmestiftelsen is a Norwegian development aid foundation that fights poverty in Africa and Asia through education, job creation, and civil society strengthening programs. It delivers services such as Speed School accelerated education, Hjertevenn child sponsorship, savings and loan groups, life skills training, and green jobs initiatives in 11 partner countries. It is funded primarily through Norwegian government grants (Norad), individual donations, corporate partnerships, and testamentary bequests.

Product overview

Strømmestiftelsen is a Norwegian aid organization fighting poverty through education and job creation. The organization operates as a unified portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a single product with modules. Its core programs include Speed School (rapid education for out-of-school children), Hei Verden (school initiative, merged in 2025), Hjertevenn (child sponsorship), savings and loan groups for economic empowerment, green jobs programs (Grønne jobber), life skills courses (Samvad, Bonga, Sjef i eget liv), Act Now youth exchange program, the quarterly S-magasinet publication, and an online store for symbolic donations. The organization works across 11 countries in Africa and Asia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Speed School: Hurtigskole-program for barn og ungdom som ikke har fått tilgang til utdanning
• Hei Verden
• Act Now
• Samvad
• Hjertevenn
• S-magasinet

Products and services

• Speed School (Hurtigskole) Accelerated education program that helps out-of-school children and youth catch up on missed schooling and return to formal education. Operates in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
• Hjertevenn (Child Sponsorship)

Quantifiable outcome

• 415,550 people reached with support in 2025, of whom 163,616 were children and youth under 18
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hei VerdencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Hei Verden merged into Strømmestiftelsen from 2025, strengthening the combined school initiative which will be named Hei Verden. Five employees joined from Hei Verden.
• Kristiansand kommune (Kristiansand Municipality)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2024Kristiansand municipality and Strømmestiftelsen signed a cooperation agreement for projects in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. The collaboration agreement was signed in February 2024.
• Hald Internasjonale Skole (Hald International School)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Operates the Act Now youth exchange program in partnership with Strømmestiftelsen. Students spend a year including several months of practice in a partner country. The school in Mandal, Norway is the hub for the exchange, with academic credit available from NLA Høgskolen. The school is being discontinued after the 2025/2026 school year.
• ReturkraftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Norwegian waste management company collaborating with Strømmestiftelsen on the green jobs project in Mali. Returkraft provides routines and systems for plastic collection and handling. CEO Odd Terje Døvik described the partnership as using their human and technical resources to help others who lack the same resources.
• Norsk GjenvinningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Norwegian recycling company contributing expertise to the green jobs and plastic recycling project in Mali as part of the multi-partner initiative.
• Norsk Geoteknisk Institutt (NGI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Norwegian Geotechnical Institute contributing technical expertise to the plastic recycling and green jobs project in Mali.
• Ingeniører Uten Grenser (Engineers Without Borders Norway)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Provided five engineers who developed environmentally friendly production methods for the plastic recycling project in San, Mali. The engineers ensured the work benefits all parties in the most responsible way.
• Kirker og sivilsamfunn (Churches and civil society)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerStrømmestiftelsen has historical roots in Norwegian church mission work and maintains broad engagement with Norwegian church congregations and civil society networks as part of its community mobilization and supporter engagement.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: Global development organization operating accelerated learning programs and women's economic empowerment programs at massive scale. Comparable methodology overlap (accelerated education for out-of-school children, microfinance/savings groups) but operates as a much larger international incumbent.
• UNICEF Norge: Norwegian national committee of the global UN children's agency, similarly focused on child education, protection, and development in fragile states. Overlaps with Strømmestiftelsen's mission but operates at much larger scale globally and is not a peer funder.

Direct peers

• Utviklingsfondet (The Development Fund): Norwegian development NGO focused on food security, sustainable agriculture, and civil society strengthening. Comparable on Norad funding model, Norwegian civil society base, and poverty alleviation programming.
• Redd Barna (Save the Children Norway): Major Norwegian NGO focused on children's rights and education in developing countries. Directly comparable target beneficiaries (children), educational programming (including accelerated learning), and Norad-funded operating model.
• Digni: Norwegian umbrella organization for faith-based development NGOs, channeling Norad funds to member organizations. Strømmestiftelsen shares the faith-based civil society roots and channeled-funding model; peer-level on structure if not direct scale.
• Plan International Norge: Norwegian arm of Plan International, focused on children's rights, education, and economic empowerment in developing countries. Comparable sponsorship model (Hjertevenn parallels Plan's child sponsorship), gender equality focus, and field operations in Africa/Asia.
• Kirkens Nødhjelp (Norwegian Church Aid): One of Norway's largest development aid organizations with church-based roots, also funded by Norad, working on poverty alleviation and humanitarian response internationally. Directly comparable in scale, funding model, Norwegian public fundraising, and development program portfolio.
• CARE Norge: Norwegian branch of CARE International, with comparable focus on women's economic empowerment, savings groups, education, and emergency response. Directly comparable on women's microfinance/savings programs and field operations in similar geographies.
• Flyktninghjelpen (Norwegian Refugee Council): Large Norwegian humanitarian organization focused on displacement, refugee education, and crisis response. Comparable on Norad funding, program delivery in fragile states, and education for displaced populations (EiE) — an area where Strømmestiftelsen also operates.
• Norges Røde Kors (Norwegian Red Cross): Among the largest humanitarian and aid organizations in Norway, similarly funded by Norad and Norwegian public donations, with international program delivery. Comparable in scale, GTM (mass-market donor engagement), and beneficiary reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stromme-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 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 Strømmestiftelsen