The Scandinavian Question: Merete Hverven of Visma considers how the Nordics became a tech powerhouse
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Why are the Nordics compared to Silicon Valley in tech?
I would say that a lot of people are talking about sort of the Nordics as the Silicon Valley tech house. And and and I do see a lot of similarities across these four countries. But I think if we if we uh sit in a position for quite a long time, we forget to think out of the box and you have to because things are changing.
Welcome to Orbit. This is the HG podcast series where we speak to leaders and innovators from across the software and tech ecosystem to discuss the key trends that change how we all do business. Today I've got the pleasure to be joined by Mareta Veren, who's the CEO of Visma, one of HG's longest running investments. Visma is the leading provider of core business software based in Oslo, Norway, but with customers across the globe. Hello Moretta and thank you so much for joining me.
Hello. Great to be here.
So today I think we're going to kick off with talking about Nordic or Scandinavian uh technology. And in particular, I guess, um, I first had the pleasure to kind of travel to Norway uh and that part of the world in probably uh 96, 97. And it was to look at a couple of technology businesses in the start of the kind of dot com boom. But I guess as I reflected, I jumped on the plane and I kind of ate my kind of herrings for breakfast. I kind of reflected on the fact that uh, you know, the Nordics was largely Norway in particular, I guess, was probably kind of most famous for kind of an agrarian economy, kind of like a hundred years before. And certainly in the kind of run-up to that period for both kind of fishing and then obviously for oil in particular in the kind of 70s and 80s.
So, like, how did uh how did the region move from that kind of economy to something that is now, I think, worldwide regarded as a huge kind of successful kind of tech story. Can you give us your background on that?
Yes, I definitely can. It's it's like you say, uh looking at Norway and taking advantage of the nature. Uh without a doubt, fishing and oil has been a clear big thing that we have uh been uh happy to live off from for quite some time. But uh with the climate changes and uh and a bunch of other things I would I would say, uh we definitely see that there is a tech boost within Norway, but also in the Nordics. And and I think there are several reasons uh as to why this is happening. Uh without a doubt, uh we do see that um The youngsters, they're looking for purpose in what they spend their time on. And they they want to change the world. And and I guess oil is not really, really benefiting the world from a green perspective.
So we definitely had to make some large changes in Norway with respect to that. And it started out by really thinking differently on how we could take advantage of where we stayed and how to run these kind of um areas in a different manner.
How did Norway shift from an agrarian/oil economy to a tech powerhouse?
Yeah. In in Norway, I would say that the culture is really flat. It's a culture where everyone wants to question everything. You are promoted to think out of the box, to think differently. And uh and that starts at a very early uh point in time as a child, but also when you start studying, it is promoted to be entrepreneurs. You definitely see that. There are The local government, they really help startups, so they fund startups. And uh and in addition to that, the public sector is also known for its strength and role in in helping both startups but also the universities. So if you look at the um the overall educational system, both in in Norway but also without a doubt in the whole of Nordics and especially I would say Finland, we are ranked to be the top ten universities.
Uh within the space. So thinking differently, thinking out of the box, wanting to change the world and purposeful. In addition to actually quite high salaries, so the the the minimum salary in in Norway and the Nordics is a lot higher than an example if you look to the states, which has also made us for a long time having to work. on efficiency, productivity, uh, and and that has also led to the tech development that we do see in uh in the Nordics.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are the Nordics compared to Silicon Valley in tech?
0:01–3:02
2
How did Norway shift from an agrarian/oil economy to a tech powerhouse?
3:02–6:16
3
What role do education and government play in Nordic tech success?
6:16–9:29
4
How does Visma’s flat culture encourage entrepreneurship and innovation?
9:29–12:57
5
Why does Visma prioritize talent over seniority in hiring and promotion?
12:57–15:40
6
How are Nordic startups driving the post‑pandemic digital boom?
15:40–18:25
7
What can we learn from Visma’s recent acquisition of a Spanish ERP firm?
18:25–21:27
8
How will the Nordics influence Europe’s tech landscape over the next decade?
21:27–24:17
Speakers
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