Hope Spot Organization - HSO

What Hope Spot Organization - HSO does

Hope Spot Organization (HSO) is a humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in 2014 in Trondheim, Norway, that supports refugees and immigrants integrating into Norwegian society. It is registered as a private nonprofit, headquartered at Ringvålvegen 2, 7080 Heimdal, Trondheim, and operates with a small staff of four (CEO & Founder Tari Edin Barakeh, Programleder Sarya Medani, Prosjektleder Hiba Joumaa, and Psychologist/Prosjektleder Valeriia Zhemchuhova), supplemented by volunteers running language cafés, English courses, and cultural events such as the Eid, Joy and More Festival.

Its core offering is a bundle of free integration services: Norwegian and English language classes, job training, guidance counseling, and psychological support, delivered in person in Trondheim and tailored via customized plans developed with each beneficiary. The organization is politically and religiously neutral, multilingual (Norwegian, English, Arabic, Ukrainian, Russian), and works through a network of core partnerships including Erasmus+ (2021-2027), THE CIVICS Innovation Hub, Bufdir, Trondheim Kommune, Trøndelag County Municipality, and Aktiv Kultursenter.

The business model is donation-driven rather than revenue-generating in the commercial sense. Services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries; HSO relies on individual donations (via a PayPal donation page), organizational grants channelled through municipal and government partners, and ancillary fundraising through a Hope Spot Gift Shop sub-brand. The organization is recognized for impact through the 2025 Trondheim Municipality Diversity Award and the 2023 Språk og Kultur Prisen. There is no proprietary technology product; the website is built on GoDaddy's site builder. Geographic operations are confined to Trøndelag, Norway.

Name

Hope Spot Organization - HSO

Legal name

Hope Spot Organization-HSO

Website

https://hopespot.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hope Spot Organization (HSO) is a Trondheim-based humanitarian nonprofit, founded in 2014, that delivers free language classes, job training, guidance, and counseling to refugees and immigrants in Norway, funded by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Refugee integration services
• Language training programs
• Job training services
• Humanitarian assistance
• Community integration support

Headquarters

HQ city

Trondheim

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: HSO relies on donations from individuals and organizations to fund its humanitarian activities supporting refugees and immigrants with integration services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hope Spot Organization (HSO) is a humanitarian non-profit that provides free integration services to refugees and immigrants in Trondheim, Norway. Core offerings include Norwegian and English language classes, job training, guidance and counseling, and community/cultural activities such as the Språkkafe language cafe and the Eid, Joy and More Festival. Services are delivered directly to beneficiaries through customized integration plans developed in partnership with each individual, supported by a network of volunteers and partner organizations.

Product overview

Hope Spot Organization - HSO is a humanitarian non-profit NGO (established 2014) based in Trondheim, Norway, that helps refugees and immigrants integrate into new societies. The organization offers humanitarian services rather than a technology product portfolio. Services include language classes (Norwegian and English), job training, guidance and counseling, and support services. The organization develops customized plans to meet beneficiaries' unique needs and help them achieve their goals. It operates as a single unified offering focused on refugee and immigrant integration support, with volunteer programs and community activities such as the Eid, Joy and More Festival, Språkkafe (language cafe), and various cultural programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hope Spot Gift Shop: Online gift shop operated by Hope Spot Organization

Products and services

• Language Classes (Norwegian and English) Free language instruction in Norwegian and English delivered to refugees and immigrants in Trondheim as part of HSO's integration programming, including structured English courses and the Språkkafe (language cafe) format.
• Job Training Program Free job training and employability support for refugees and immigrants in Trondheim, helping beneficiaries build skills and prepare for the Norwegian labor market as part of HSO's integration services.
• Guidance and Counseling Free guidance and psychological counseling services for refugees and immigrants, including personalized integration plans developed in partnership with each beneficiary to address their unique needs and goals.
• Hope Spot Gift Shop Online gift shop operated by Hope Spot Organization to support fundraising for its humanitarian programs serving refugees and immigrants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Countless refugees and immigrants successfully integrated into new communities since 2014

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Erasmus+coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe with an estimated budget of €26.2 billion. The 2021-2027 programme places strong focus on social inclusion, green and digital transitions, and promoting young people's participation in democratic life. HSO participates in educational initiatives supported by this programme.
• THE CIVICS Innovation HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021THE CIVICS is a pan-European non-profit organization committed to empowering citizens and civic educators across Europe. HSO is part of the Civic Education in Europe map (https://mapping.thecivics.eu/). The partnership focuses on addressing challenges like threats to democracy, climate change, and growing polarisation through civic education.
• Barne, ungdoms og familiedirektoratet (Bufdir)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBufdir is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Children and Families. Main areas include upbringing, child welfare, family services, adoption, equality and non-discrimination, and violence and abuse in close relationships. The agency oversees Bufetat which is responsible for state child and family welfare.
• United Cities Norsk BærekraftsenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorsk Bærekraftsenter is a company working to map and realize opportunities for value creation in sustainable transition of cities and local communities. The center is responsible for designing and implementing internship programmes. Headquartered in Trondheim.
• Arrangementskontoret / Trondheim KommunecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArrangementskontoret is a resource office for everyone involved in events in Trondheim. They help organizers with advice, practical work, and serve as a collaborative partner on events. They manage grants for cultural life, lending of municipal premises, and support voluntary cultural life with diversity focus.
• Patrick WebbminorOthersPatrick Webb is a cinematographer and creative director with over a decade of experience across commercial, documentary and brand filmmaking. Provides visual content services including brand campaigns, portrait series, and visual identity development for HSO.
• Trøndelag County MunicipalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrøndelag County Municipality was established in 2018 and is responsible for important services such as secondary education, transport, county roads, dental health, regional development, culture and cultural heritage, public health, climate and environment.
• Skolert ASminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSkolert AS is an approved provider of Kompetansepluss courses, delivering courses to businesses since 2014. They offer courses with both physical gatherings and online teaching, focusing on quality and close follow-up of partners and participants.
• Aktiv KultursenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAktiv Kultursenter is a non-profit organization working to promote inclusion, community and activity among children, youth and adults in Trondheim. They create safe and open meeting places where people from different backgrounds can meet, learn, participate and contribute, with particular focus on women and families.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Caritas Norge: Norwegian branch of international Catholic humanitarian network providing refugee integration support, language courses, and counseling — overlaps HSO's multi-language training and integration mission with faith-affiliated positioning.
• Norsk Folkehjelp (Norwegian People's Aid): Major Norwegian humanitarian NGO with explicit focus on refugee and asylum-seeker support including integration programs, advocacy, and volunteer-based service delivery — directly overlaps HSO's beneficiary cohort and volunteer-led model.
• Norwegian Red Cross (Røde Kors): Norway's largest humanitarian organization with nationwide refugee integration programming including language support, asylum reception, and resettlement services — comparable mission (refugee integration) at vastly greater national scale and with established government contracts.
• Kirkens Bymisjon (Church City Mission): Large Norwegian social services NGO offering refugee integration, language training, and community support across multiple cities — comparable service portfolio with multi-city reach and established institutional funding relationships.

Others

• Bufdir - Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs: Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Children and Families overseeing integration, equality, and non-discrimination programs — comparable because HSO partners with Bufdir and operates in the same policy domain of refugee/family integration support.
• THE CIVICS Innovation Hub: Pan-European non-profit empowering civic educators across Europe, with active partnership mapping of organizations like HSO — comparable because both share civic education, inclusion, and community empowerment missions, and THE CIVICS is a current strategic partner of HSO.
• IMDi (Norwegian Directorate of Integration and Diversity): Norwegian government agency responsible for refugee reception, settlement, and integration policy and contracting — comparable because IMDi is the principal funder of refugee integration services in Norway and an indirect counterpart/administrative peer to HSO's beneficiary services.

Direct peers

• Aktiv Kultursenter: Trondheim-based non-profit promoting inclusion and community participation among children, youth, and adults from diverse backgrounds — directly comparable local Trondheim geography, beneficiary population, and community-activities-based integration model (HSO lists this organization as a partner).
• Drop in the Ocean (Dråpen i Havet): Norwegian volunteer-led NGO providing social and recreational activities, language support, and integration services for asylum seekers and refugees — closely comparable volunteer-driven, community-event-based model targeting the same beneficiary group in Norway.

Regional players

• Dansk Flygtningehjælp / Danish Refugee Council (DRC): Major Nordic humanitarian organization providing refugee integration, language training, and protection services across Scandinavia — comparable mission and Nordic regional operating context, but primarily Denmark-based rather than Norway.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HopespotOrg
• Facebookfacebook.com/534587159985160
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hope-spot-organization-hso
• Instagraminstagram.com/hope_spot_no
• TikToktiktok.com/@hope.spot.org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hope Spot Organization - HSO