The value creators of tomorrow

Young Enterprise Norway

Young Enterprise Norway is a country-wide charitable organisation that works with the educational system, business and industry, and other organisations to develop creativity, the joy of creating and self-belief in children and young people. They learn to see opportunities and to make something of them.

Entrepreneurship programs in schools provide young people with a unique experience that contributes to their self-knowledge and education. They give pupils the chance to make better choices for themselves, their organisations and the local community, both now and in the future.

The programs are run in close collaboration with local employers and companies. This approach creates a bridge between theory and practice and helps to make the learning process more creative and relevant.

Innovators are needed everywhere!

Read more about Young Enterprise Norway here 

Young Enterprise Norway and Ferd

Ferd’s collaboration with Young Enterprise Norway has a long history and started with Edgar Johannesen, who worked in finance at Tiedemann’s and managed during his many years at Tiedemanns Tobaksfabrik to be an advisor and right-hand man to three generations of the Andresen family. On 15 October 1990 Johan H. Andresen Sr., Edgar Johannesen and Nils Kvandal signed an agreement that established the ‘Stiftelsen Ungdomsbedrifter’ (the Young Enterprise Foundation), which became the forerunner to today’s Young Enterprise Norway.

Young Enterprise Norway was set up in 1997, and represents a continuation of the work to which Edgar Johannesen contributed when, as chair of its board, he produced the Youth Business Foundation’s articles of association. Ferd and Johan H. Andresen Jr.’s personal involvement date back to 2003 when he met with Young Enterprise Norway at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise’s annual conference. This involvement initially consisted of a collaboration with the Oslo branch of Young Enterprise Norway, but a nationwide collaboration quickly followed. Johan H. Andresen’s involvement also provided the philosophical and practical foundation for other initiatives, such as the Nordic Microfinance Initiative and Ferd Social Entrepreneurs, both of which are based on the belief that giving individuals new opportunities is the key to unlocking their potential.

Ferd's List

Johan H. Andresen also took the initiative to set up Ferd’s List, which is a list of inspiring entrepreneurs and leaders aged between 25 and 45 from across Europe as well as other parts of the world. Ferd’s List is an annual event that recognises six to ten entrepreneurs and managers and adds them to Ferd’s List. The individuals in question are role models, both as creators of value and as people who give back to society, and joining Ferd’s List makes them members of a unique network. What everyone on Ferd’s List has in common is that they have all built on the experience of entrepreneurship they gained through a school program affiliated with Junior Achievement Europe, the umbrella organisation of which Young Enterprise Norway is a member, and thereby demonstrate that people, particularly young people, will make good use of new opportunities if they are provided with them.