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1st Seed Forum in Vilnius

 
The 1st Seed Forum in Vilnius was kindly hosted by DnB NORD Bankas in the Simfonija Conference Hall at the Radisson BLU Astorija Hotel in Vilnius on Tuesday the 29th of June. More than 60 participants attended the forum where to more than 40 unique investors. The forum presented 8 companies where to 3 from Norway, 3 from Lithuania, 1 from Latvia and 1 from Estonia. The opening remarks was given by The Ambassador of Norway, HE Steinar Gil, and key-notes were given by the CEO of DnB NORD Bankas, Mr. Werner Schilli, by Mr. Tomas Rymeks from the Law Firm Regija Borenius, by Mr. Mantas Nocius from Invest in Lithuania and by Mr. Ignas Kamantauskas from Sunrise Valley Science Park. The evening reception to Seed Forum Vilnius was kindly hosted by Ambassador Gil in the Ambassadors Residence.
 
Venue of the event: Conference Hall Simfojina, Radisson BLU Astorija, Didzioji st. 35/2, Vilnius. Lithuania 
Date of the event: Tuesday 29th of June 2010

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6th Seed Forum in Trondheim

The 6th Seed Forum in Trondheim was kindly hosted in the premises of DnB NOR at Torvet in Trondheim on Wednesday the 9th of June presenting 7 companies from the Trøndelag region in Norway. The Innovation Award of DnB NOR for the Mid-Norway and North of Norway region was also handed out at the forum by director Mr. Morten Støver  on behalf of the bank. The forum was kindly opened by the Mayor of Trondheim, Rita Ottervik, and key-notes at the forum was kindly held by  Mr. Rune Sævik of Investinor and Mr. Olaf Prestvold of Innovation Norway. More than 80 persons took part in the forum.
 
Venue of the event: DnBNOR, 5th floor, Torvet, Munkegata 22, Trondheim.
Date of the event: Wednesday 9th of June 2010 

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7th Seed Forum in Gjøvik

The 7th Seed Forum in Gjøvik in Inland Norway was conducted on Tuesday the 8th of June 2010 at the Quality Strand Hotel in Gjøvik kindly hosted by DnB NOR. 6 companies from the Inland region in Norway presented to more than 15 local investors. The forum was kindly opened by Maris Strætkværn on behalf of DnB NOR, and key-notes was given by Torun Taralrud of Innovation Norway, Rune Sævik of Investinor and Geir Glomstad of Gjøvik Science Park. The local process coordinator of the Seed Forum Inland regional process spring 2010 has been the Gjøvik Science Park.

Venue of the event: Quality Strand Hotel, Mustadsal I, Strandagata, 15, 2815 Gjøvik
Date of the event: Tuesday the 8th of June 2010

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6th pitch training in Trøndelag

 
The 6th pitch training for the Seed Forum Trøndelag process was conducted in Steinkjer for the 2nd time on Friday the 4th of June. The pitch training kindly hosted by DnB NOR included 7 companies which will be presenting in Seed Forum in Trondheim on Wednesday the 9th of June. 3 of the companies are from the North Trøndelag county and 4 of the companies are from the South Trøndelag county. An external lecture to the pitch training was given by Svein Stenvik of the Oslo Patent Bureau. The pitch training included 4 coaches from Innovation Norway, DnB NOR and from Science Park 1 in Steinkjer.
 
Venue of the event: DnBNOR, Brugata 2, 7700 Steinkjer
Date of the event: Friday the 4th of June 2010

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7th pitch training in Gjøvik

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2nd Commercialization Reactor in Riga

The pitch training of Seed Forum at the 2nd Commercialization Reactor in Riga was conducted on Thursday the 27th of May. The Commercialization Reactor in Riga was hosted by the Investment and Development Agency in Riga including presenters of technologies from Russia, Armenia and Georgia and entrepreneurs from Latvia.. 6 investment proposals was trained to present to a panel of 6 investors a the end of the pitch training session. The partner to the Commercialization Reactor are among others the International Science and Technology Center in Russia.
 
Venue of the event: Reval Hotel Ridzene, Reimersa 1, 1050 Riga, Latvia
Date of the event: Thursday the 27th of May 2010

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6th Seed Forum in Hamburg

The 6th Seed Forum Hamburg was conducted on Wednesday the 26th of May in the premises of the law firm DLA Piper. The forum presented in total 4 companies whereof 3 companies from Norway and 1 company from Germany, and than 20 participants took part in the forum. Opening remarks at the forum was given by partner Mr. Ludger Verfuerth of DLA Piper and Consul General HE Morten Paulsen of Norway to Hamburg. The evening reception to the forum was kindly hosted by Consul General HE Morten Paulsen of Norway in His Residence

Venue of the event: DLA Piper, Conference Room Alster, Jungvernstieg 7, Hamburg, Germany

Date of the event: Wednesday the 26^th of May 2010.

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6th selection committee meeting in Trøndelag

 
The 6th selection committee meeting for Seed Forum Trondheim was kindly hosted by DnB NOR in the premises of the bank in Stjørdal in Trøndelag  on Tuesday the 25th of May. The selection committee meeting selected 8 companies to present in Seed Forum Trondheim on Wednesday the 9th of June. The 8 companies were selected from in total 15 companies with filled in Business Summaries nominated by the main players in the innovation system in the Trøndelag region. The members of the selection committee for Seed Forum Trondheim spring 2010 are Olaf Prestvold from Innovation Norway in Trondheim, Bjørn Røstum from Innovation Norway in Steinkjer, Geri-Tore Mathisen from DnB NOR, Gun Svendsen from Bygteknikk and Bjørn Bratt from Science Park 1 in Steinkjer.
 
Venue of the event: DnB NOR, Stokmoveien 1, Stjørdal, Norway
Date of the event:  Tuesday the 25th of May 2010 

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9th Seed Forum in New York City

The 9th Seed Forum in NYC was kindly hosted by DLA Piper in the offices of the Law Firm in Avenue of the Americas on Thursday the 20st of May. More than 60 persons participates in the forum whereof more than 40 unique investors. The opening remarks to the forum was given by Mr. Yvan-Claude Pierre who is partner of DLA Piper in NYC, and other key-notes was also held by Assisting Consul General Henrik Width of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General and the Kristin Holth who is the managing director of the branch of DnB NOR in NYC. In total 5 companies whereof 4 from Norway and 1 from Latvia presented at the forum. The evening reception was kindly hosted by Assisting Consul General Henrik Width in the premises of Heiberg Cummings Design Co in Chelsea.
 
Venue of the event: DLA Piper, Multipurpose Room, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan, New York City
Date of the event: Thursday the 20st of May 2010

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5th Seed Forum in Riga

The 5th Seed Forum in Riga kindly hosted by DnB NORD Banka was hosted in the Glass Hall of Hotel Bergs in Riga on Thursday the 13th of May. The forum gathered more than 60 persons whereof more than 30 unique investors from Latvia and from Estonia as well. The forum was opened by Mr. Andris Ozols whi is the managing director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), and key-notes was held by Mr. Jiuris Grisins who is the chairman of the Lativian Venture Capital Association and Dana Reiznieze who is a board member in the Ventspis High Tech Park. The forum included presentation of 3 companies from Latvia, 3 companies from Norway, 1 company from Estonia and 1 company from Lithuania. The evening reception to the forum was kindly hosted by the Ambassador of Norway HE Jan Grevstad in the Ambassadors Residence.
 
Venue for the event: Glass Hall, Hotel Bergs, 83 / 85 Elizabetes Street, Riga
Date of the event: Thursday the 13th of May 2010

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 21st Seed Forum in Oslo

The 21st Seed Forum in Oslo also branded as the 11th Vekstforum in Oslo in cooperation with DnB NOR was hosted in the Marble Hall of the bank in Kirkegt, 21 in Oslo on Thursday the 6th of May 2010. More than 80 persons attended the forum where 8 companies presented their investment cases. The forum also included for the first time the ceremony of the DnB NOR Innovaion Award for the Oslo Region as a part of the program.
The opening remarks at the forum was kindly given by the City Minister for Trade and Industry of Oslo, Mr. Øystein Sjøtveit, and key-note speeches was also given by Mr. Tord Eide of DLA Piper and Mr. Bjarki Brynjarsson of Askar Capital from Iceland. The ceremony of the DnBNOR Innovation Award was conducted by Director Jarle Mortesen of DnBNOR.
The evening reception after the forum was kindly hosted by the Ukrainian Ambassdor to Norway, HE Oleksandr Tsvietkov, in the Ukrainian Embassy.
 
Venue of the event:  DnBNOR Marble Hall, Kirkegaten 21, Oslo
Date of the event: Thursday the 6th of May 2010

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20st Seed Forum Pitch Training in Oslo

The 20st pitch training in Oslo was conducted in the conference centre of DLA Piper in Oslo on Tuesday the 4th of May 2010.  Lectures at the pitch training was held by partner Tord Eide of DLA Piper, by Frode Pedersen of DnB NOR Markets and by Mr. Trond Gustad of the Oslo Patent Bureau.  All of the companies taking part in the pitch training will present in Seed Forum Oslo on the 6th of May.
 
Venue of the event: DLA Piper Conference Centre, Olav VS g 4 9th floor, 0161 Oslo, Norway
Date of the event: Tuesday 4th of June 2010 

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1st Seed Forum Pitch Training in Vilnius

 
The first Seed Forum pitch training in Vilnius was conducted on Friday the 30st of April. 6 Lithuanian start-up companies form Vilnius and from Kaunas took part in the pitch training kindly hosted in the premises of the Law firm Borenius. The coordinator of the nomination process was The Sunrise Valley Science Park in Vilnius.  A lecture about the investment process was kindly held by Mr. Tomas Rymeks who is a partner in Borenius. This first pitch training provides an existing and enthusiastic start of Seed Forum activities in Lithuania. 
 
Venue of the event:  Borenius office, J. Jaskinskio g, 16 A, 8ith floor, 10002 Vilnius, Lithuania
Date of the event: Friday the 30st of April 2010   

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 5th Seed Forum in Kyiv

The 5th Seed Forum Kyiv was conducted in the premises of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday the 28th of April 2010. More than 150 participants from many regions of Ukraine took part in the forum. The forum presented 4 companies from Norway, 3 companies from Norway and 1 company from Latvia.
The forum was opened by Vice-President Olena Podolieva og the Ukrainian Chamber for Commerce and Industry, and a key-note was also held by the Ukrainian Vice-Minister for Education and Science Mr. Victor Ivchenko, by the Ambassador of Norway. HE Olav Berstad, and by Mr. Executive director of the EBRD, Mr. Igor Podoliev. The evening reception after Seed Forum Kyiv was kindly hosted by the Ambassador of Norway in his Residence.
 
Venue of the event: 4th floor auditorium in the headquarter of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Velyka Zhytomyrskaya 33, Kyiv. Ukraine.
Date of the event: Wednesday the 28th of April 2010 

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 7th Seed Forum in Copenhagen

The 7th Seed Forum in Copenhagen was kindly hosted by the Horten Law Firm on Tuesday the 20st of April in their new premises in Tuborg Havn in Hellerup.
5 companies presented at the forum whereof 2 companies from Denmark, 2 companies from Norway and 1 company from Sweden. The evening reception after the forum the same day was kindly hosted in cooperation with Innovation Norway in the Norwegian Embassy downtown Copenhagen. The opening remarks at the forum was given by Mr. Jim Øksnebjerg who is a partner in the Horten Law Firm, and a key-note speech was also given by Mr. Dag Westeberg of the MINC incubator in Malmø in Sweden.
 
This forum will be remembered as a historic forum as the forum was conducted despite the great difficulties with regards to the challenges in air traffic because of the volcano aches from Iceland. A number of persons who had registered for the forum was unfortunately stuck in various destinations around the world.
 
Venue of the Event: Horten Law Firm Conference centre,  Philip Heymans Allè 7, 5th floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark.
 
Date of the event: 20st of April 2010

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11th Seed Forum in Reykjavik 

 
The 11th of Seed Forum in Reykjvik was conducted on Friday the 9th of April 2010 in the headquarters of Arion bank in Borgartun in Reykjavik. More than 140 persons participated in the forum which is recognized as a national start-up forum in Iceland. More than 30 investors were presented to listed to presentation of 7 companies where of 5 from Iceland and 2 from Norway. The forum was opened by the Icelandic Minsiter for Trade and Industry, Katrin Juliusdottir followd by a key-note by the Rector of the University of Reykjavik. The closing remarks of the forum was held by the Ambassador of Norway, HE Marit Reiten who were also the host of the networking lunch. The evening reception to the forum the same evening was kindly hosted by UKTI in the British Ambassadors’ Residence.
 
Venue of the event: Arion Bank headquarters, Borgartun, Reykjavik
Date of the event: 9th of April 2010.

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17th Seed Forum in London

The 17th Seed Forum in London was conducted in Thursday the 25th of March kindly hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD) in the City of London. The forum was kindly opened by Indra Freiberga who is the Commercial Councilor of the Latvian Embassy in London. Key-notes at the forum was also held by Mr. Nck Tessyman of the EBRD and Mr. Charles Bond of the law firm Cobbets. The forum was presenting 9 companies from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia and Estonia. The evening reception was kindly hosted by the Latvian Embassy and the Latvian Investment and Development Agency in Latvia house. The internal preparatory meetings to the forum was hosted at eOffice.

Venue of the event: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, One Exchange Square, London.

Date of the event: Thursday 25th of March 2010

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 10th Seed Forum in Stockholm

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4th Pitch Training in Kyiv

The 4th pitch training in Kyiv was hosted by the training department of the Ukrainian Chamber for Commerce and Industry on Tuesday the 16thof March. The pitch training included 8 Ukrainian start-up companies where to 4 of the companies bill be selected to further preset in Seed Forum Kyiv spring 2010.  The main nominators of Seed Forum in Ukraine in addition to the Chamber of Commerce of Ukraine is Science and Technology Center Ukraine (STCU) and the City of Kyiv.  Coaches to the pitch training was representatives from the Gjøvik Science Park in Norway and The Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals (TEKNA).

Venue of the event:  The training center of the Ukrainian Chamber for Commerce and Industry, Velyka Zhytomyrska 33, Kyiv, Ukraine  

Date of the event: Tuesday the 16^th of March 2010

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20st Seed Forum in Oslo

The 20st Seed Forum in Oslo was conducted on Thursday the 11 of March in the headquarters of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bjørvika in Oslo. The forum presented 8 companies from Norway, Sweden, Latvia and Ukraine to more than 40 investors. This is the first Seed Forum presenting a Ukrainian company to Norwegian investors. The Ambassador of Ukraine, HE Oleksandr Tsvietkov, was also present at the forum. The Seed Forum evening reception the same day was hosted by the United Kingdom Trade and Investment at Hotel Continental. The audition and the round-up session for the presenting companies was hosted by DLA Piper.

Venue of the event: 2^nd floor auditorium of the PwC building in Bjørvika, Oslo

Date of the event: Thursday the 11^th of March 2010

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2nd Seed Forum in Ålesund

The 2nd Seed Forum Ålesund was conducted on Tuesday the 2nd of March in Thon Hotel Ålesund hosted by the DnBNOR bank. The forum presented 5 investor ready companies from the county of Møre and Romsdal to local investors and investors from Oslo and Trondheim as well. The forum completes the 2nd Seed Forum process in the county of Møre and Romsdal in cooperation with Innovation Norway, the DnBNOR bank and the innovation centers of the region. The local project coordinator of Seed Forum in Møre and Romsdal is the Ålesund Science Park. Approximately 15 investors participated in the forum.

Venue of the event: Thon Hotel Ålesund, Ålesund

Date of the event: Tuesday 2^nd of March 2010

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3rd Seed Forum Pitch Training in Stockholm

The 3rd Seed Forum International pitch training took place in Stockholm hosted by the DLA Nordic law firm on Friday the 19of February 2010. 7 companies took part in the pitch training whereof 3 from Sweden, 3 from Norway and 1 from Latvia. The Swedish companies originated from Ørebro, from Lindkøping and from Stockholm. The pitch training also included coaches from Sweden, Norway and from Latvia. A lecture about the investment process was conducted by Partner Emma Norburg of DLA Nordic.

Venue of the event: DLA Nordic, Kungsgatan 9, 3trd floor, Stockholm

Date of the event:  Friday the 19^th of February 2010 

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2nd Seed Forum pitch training in Ålesund

The 2nd regional Seed Forum pitch training in Ålesund for companies from the region of Møre and Romsdal in Norway was hosted by the DnBNOR Bank in the headquarters of the bank in Ålesund on Friday the 12th of February. The companies were nominated by the Ålesund Science Park and Innovation Norway, and coaches from Ålesund Science Park, Molde Science Park, The Knudtzon Innovation Centre in Kristiansund and DnBNOR took part in the pitch training. The pitch training also included a lecture by Mr. Trond Gustad of the Oslo Patent Bureau. All companies taking part in the pitch training will be presenting their investment case at Seed Forum in Ålesund on the 2nd of March. This is the 2nd regional Seed Forum process in the region of Møre and Romsdal.

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3rd Seed Forum Pitch Training in Copenhagen

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3rd Seed Forum Pitch Training in Tallinn

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3rd Seed Forum Pitch Training in Riga

The 3rdSeed Forum international pitch training in Riga took place Friday the 22nd of January in the headquarters of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency. The national nomination process prior to the pitch training conducted by LIAA resulted in 15 nominated Latvian companies where to 8 Latvian companies were selected to take part in the pitch training.

 Venue of the Event: LIAA-building, 2^nd floor conference hall, Perses Str. 2, Riga, Latvia

Date of the Event : Friday the 22^nd of January 2010

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4th pitch training in Copenhagen

 
The 4th pitch training in Copenhagen took place in the premises of the Horten Law Firm Friday the 3rd of September including 4 companies from Southern Sweden and 1 company from Norway. Dag Westberg from MINC in Malmø and Lars Henriksen from Apex in Copenhagen took part in the training as coaches and a lecture about the investment process was conducted by partner Jim Øksnejberg of the Horten Law Firm.
 
Venue of the Event: Horten Law Firm Conference centre,  Philip Heymans Allè 7, 5th floor, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark.
Date of the event: Friday 3rd of September 2010

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4th Seed Forum pitch training in Bodø

The 4th pitch training in Bodø was kindly hosted by Nordlandsbanken in Bodø on Monday the 30st of August 2010. The pitch training included 4 companies from the Nordland county in Norway which will present to investors in Seed Forum in Bodø on Tuesday the 28th of September 2010. Marlene Andersen and Tomas Norvoll of the Bodø Science Park and Tore Skogvold of Nordlandsbanken took part in the pitch training as coaches. 

Venue of the event: Nordlandsbanken, 5th floor conference room, Moloveien 22, 8003 Bodø
Date of the event: Monday 30st of August 2010

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4th Seed Forum pitch training in Riga

 
The 4th pitch training in Riga was kindly hosted by the Latvian investment and Development Agency in the LIAA-buidling n Riga on Friday the 27th of August 2010. The pitch training included 5 companies from Latvia and 1 company from Lithuania. Mr. Gints Vins of Finance Management and Evija Pudane of LIAA took part as coaches in the training.

Venue of the Event: LIAA-building, 5th floor conference hall, Perses Str. 2, Riga, Latvia
Date of the event: Friday the 27th of August 2010