WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
24 October 2012 
 (12-5800) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original:   English 
 
  
REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
 
NORWAY 
 
Addendum 
  
 The following communication, dated 15 October 2012, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Norway.  
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 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement requir es "developed country Members to provide 
incentives to enterprises and ins titutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and 
encouraging technology transfer to least-developed co untry Members in order to enable them to create 
a sound and viable technological base".  The present note provides an update of the relevant facilities 
provided by the Norwegian Agency for Devel opment Cooperation (Norad) and the Norwegian 
Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund). 
2. Least-developed countries are eligible for Norad and Norfund incentive schemes along with 
other developing countries with a GDP per capita  of less than US$6,925 in accordance with the 
threshold for the World Bank's concessional fina ncing. In 2011, Norad provided approximately 
US$48.1 million to the said group of developi ng countries through these programmes.  Norfund 
provided US$290.8 million to ODA recipients in 2011. 
II. THE NORWEGIAN AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION (NORAD) 
3. Norad provides incentives for technology transf er to developing countries, including least 
developed countries, through (1) its facilities for pre- investment support, (2) support to export related 
activities in developing countries and (3) its institutiona l support.  Priority is given to least developed 
countries, Norway's partner countries and strengt hening private sector development and trade in 
Africa.  
4. The incentives are application based and untied.  The main users are Norwegian enterprises.  
The schemes are open for all kind of technology transf er.  Technical assistance  is the main mode of 
technology transfer but the schemes do also in clude investments in basic infrastructure and 
environmental technology.  The support offered under the schemes is normally 50 per cent.  
Engagement in LDCs may enjoy a higher percentage  of support.  Tanzania, Sudan and South Sudan, IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
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  Zambia, Uganda, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malawi a nd Ethiopia are among the LDCs receiving such 
support.  The financing facilities are fully utilized every year. 
5. The purpose of the Norad facilities for pre-investme nt support is to encourage firms to invest 
in developing countries, including least-developed countries.  The facilities promote cooperation, including cooperation relating to transfer of tech nology, through the support of feasibility studies for 
establishing joint ventures or foreign subsidiaries, match-making, training in order to strengthen the 
local staff and management of joint ventures or comp anies that are owned wholly or partially by one 
or more foreign companies, investments in basic environmental infrastructure and basic infrastructure 
(road, water/sanitation, electricity and telecommunica tion).  Support is also given to public-private 
partnership arrangements.  Public -private partnership involves e ngagement of Norwegian private 
sector in developing countries, including LDCs.  This  kind of projects will often include an important 
technology transfer component.  Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Bangladesh and Mali have 
received support from these facilities. 
6. The purpose of supporting export related project s is to strengthen the countries' export 
potential and to facilitate trade by assisting in build ing institutional and nationa l capacities i.e. relating 
to standards, metrology, testing and quality and trade facilitation.  Norad is supporting several 
regional and national programmes leading to intern ational recognition and acceptance of certification 
systems, both on multi-bi basis as well as bilaterally.  Some of these programmes also include financing of testing laboratories both for food expor t and particular industrial goods.  Assistance is 
also given to exporters in developing countries and to the development of quality and design of 
products (product development) in order to meet inte rnational market requirements.  The area of trade 
facilitation is important for the development of trad e, not least regional trade and support is given 
mainly through multilateral and international organizations.  
7. Norway's International Climate and Forest In itiative was established in 2008, to implement 
the pledge from Bali.  Most activities are bei ng coordinated through mu ltilateral channels.  In 
addition, Norway supports a few countries bilaterally in their efforts to reduce forest loss, and provide 
funding for civil society actors in relevant areas.   Technology transfer and development related to 
reduced greenhouse gas emissions will be an impor tant element in the cooperation between public 
authorities and private sector.  In particular the development of capacity for Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV) has a high component of technology transfer.  Many countries supported by the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative rece ive MRV support, for example Tanzania, Nepal, 
Liberia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.  
8. The Cleaner Development Mechanism (CDM) is  a flexible mechanism under the Kyoto 
Protocol.  One of the main aims of this mechanism is to contribute to sustainable development, and 
technology transfer is an important element.  Norad's scheme for support to CDM-project development aims at facilitating development of projects in LDCs. 
9. The purpose of Clean Energy for Development In itiative is to provide increased access to 
clean energy.  The Initiative will focus on areas wher e Norway has a special expertise to offer and 
mobilize Norwegian private capital and competence in areas such as hydropower, solar, wind and bio-energy.  Some of the core least developed countries receiving such support are Mozambique, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, Timor-Leste, Liberia and Ethiopia.  Norway is also part of an International Energy 
and Climate Partnership.  The Partnership aims to  ensure access to sustainable energy for all and 
avoid greenhouse gas emissions through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. 
10. The Norwegian Oil for Development Initiative (OfD ) aims at assisting developing countries, 
upon their request, in their efforts to manage petr oleum resources in a way that generates economic 
growth, and promotes welfare of the whole populati on in an environmentally sustainable way.  The 
Oil for Development Initiative conducted activities in  22 countries.  Afghanistan, Mozambique, Sudan  IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
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  and South Sudan, Timor-Leste and Uganda are amon g the LDC-countries receiving support.  The Oil 
for Development Programme is enga ged in a number of other initiatives, either directly or via other 
donors and implementing partners (for example Petr oleum Governance Initiative, African Centre for 
Economic Transformation, No rad's Master Programme for Energy and Petroleum). 
11. The main task for The Information Office for Private Sector Development, owned by Norad 
and Norfund, is to advice companies on different support instruments available when planning an 
investment in a developing country.  265 new cases were registered in 2011 and 6 out of 10 enquires 
relate to countries in Africa.  Main sectors of in terest have been renewable energy, manufacturing and 
services.  
III. NORWEGIAN INVESTMENT FUND FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
(NORFUND) 
About Norfund 
 
12. The purpose of Norfund is to promote private-sector development in developing countries by 
providing risk capital and expertise.  Norfund provides loans and invests in equity both directly in 
companies and through local or regional funds.  Norfund supports the realization of viable 
commercial projects, which balance economic, social and environmental consid erations, by investing 
in private enterprises.  Norfund's strategy is to inv est primarily in four geographical areas: Southern 
Africa, Eastern Africa, Central America and the Me kong area, with priority given to Africa and Least 
Developed Countries (LDCs).  These are areas with a pa rticular shortage of capital and expertise, and 
Norfund has a local presence with offices and staff in all the four target areas.  
13. Additionally, Norfund has chosen to concentr ate especially on investments in renewable 
energy, agribusiness, and the financial sector.  Th ese are sectors with high developmental returns and 
where Norfund's conditions for mobilizing expertise of international quality are good.  Assistance 
from Norfund is untied and do not have to be in coop eration with Norwegian enterprises.  Of the three 
core sectors, renewable energy and the financial s ector are the largest areas of investment. Both 
sectors are prerequisites for development and growth .  Renewable energy projects contribute to more 
energy production as well as healthier and more sustainable sources of electricity.  Banks and 
microfinance institutions are important for business es' and households' access  to financial services 
like loans, saving accounts and insurance which a llows for more value creation and financial 
planning.  Agribusiness is an important sect or for poverty reduction through increased food 
production for local consumption and trade, as well as employment of both skilled and unskilled 
labor.  Technology and competence transfers are an integral part of Norfund's investment activities, 
both regarding operational and indus trial management and health, safety and environmental issues.  
The development of these elements is core to the organization's mission.  
14. Norfund exercise active ownership in the companies and funds it invests in and it often 
requires positions on the investees' boards or other decision making bodies.  This gives Norfund 
proximity to operations and the possibility of influe ncing practices and standards over time.  Given an 
ownership horizon of four to ten years, Norfund work s for the creation of a co rporate culture that is 
engaged in continuous improve ment of corporate governance, and environmental and social 
standards.  Action plans are sometimes used to  stake out a long-term course for how companies 
should shift from operating according to local standa rds into international standards over time.  
Norfund also has a special grant fac ility that can be used to support enterprise improvements; better 
governance; and enhanced environmental and social  responsibility for existing investees, as well as 
the development of particularly risky investment  opportunities.  These grant resources are allocated 
independently of the commercial i nvestment capital, and are an e ffective instrument in Norfund's 
execution of ownership and for tran sferring technology and knowledge.  IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
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  Investments in agribusiness 
 
15. Currently Norfund has six direct agribusiness investments which all contribute to a certain 
degree of technology and knowledge transfer.  E.g., in Swaziland, the Norfund investment company Casquip is introducing an industr ial production method to refine cassava starch to the African 
continent.  Previously such star ch has only been available through imports from Asia.  Agrica Ltd., a 
rice farm in Tanzania, uses state of the art rice farming equipment and has constructed a high tech 
processing plant.  In 2009 Agrica initiated, and is  now running, a System for Rice Intensification 
(SRI) Programme for small-holder farmers in th e villages surrounding the farm.  The Programme 
provides farmers with high yield seed, weeding equipment, and training in order to increase the 
quality and quantity of their rice produce. Norfund has supported the SRI-Programme through the 
grant facility since 2010.  In the future, this Pr ogramme can potentially develop into a commercial 
out-grower scheme, where farmers can sell their excess produce to Agrica Ltd.  Norfund is also 
supporting other initiatives for small- holder farmers. E.g., Norfund has supported the acquisition of a 
development manager at its investee Africado Ltd., an avocado plantation in Tanzania.  The manager 
is an international expert and is developing a pr ofessional out-grower scheme for the company.  The 
objective of the scheme is to enable Africado to cont ract small-holder farmers in the vicinity of the 
plantation, and offer them a predictable intake fo r their produce.  The scheme is currently supported 
by both Norfund's grant facility and USAid, and incl udes offering the out-growers subsidized avocado 
trees and training. 
Investments in renewable energy 
 16. Within the field of renewable energy, Norfund is working on several projects involving 
transfer of state of the art technologies to developi ng countries.  In-principle investment decisions 
have been made to finance two wind projects in Kenya in which leading international wind power 
companies will be involved in design, construction and operation of the wind parks.  In total 360 MW 
of electricity generated from wind power will be fe d into the Kenyan grid.  Furthermore, Norfund 
intends to invest in three solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in South Africa developed by the 
Norwegian company Scatec Solar.  The project s have been awarded under the South African 
renewable energy procurement programme and will result in 190 MW of solar powered electricity on 
the South African grid.  In order to promote technolog y transfer and ensure that even more projects in 
developing countries are developed to a bankable state, Norfund has established an early funding 
scheme that covers project development costs of re newable energy projects.  The scheme is applicable 
for projects in established technologies such as hydr o, wind and solar as well as biogas, geothermal 
and waste-to -energy projects.  The scheme is ope rating and allows Norfund to proactively contribute 
to a pipeline of projects being brought to fruition.  
17. Norfund has also been instrumental in setting up and funding the investment company Agua 
Imara.  Agua Imara is targeting hydro power inv estments in East and Southern Africa and Central 
America.  The company is currently developing hydropower projects in Zambia, Panama and looking at opportunities for hydropower in Mozambique.  In addition, Norfund owns 40 per cent of the 
investment company SN Power which invests in developing countries through the development of 
hydropower projects in Asia and Latin America.  SN  Power's strategy consists both of acquisition and 
construction projects. At year-end 2011, SN Power held 38 power plants in 9 countries with a total 
installed capacity of 1.308 MW.  Whereas Norfund a nd Agua Imara focus on investments in the Least 
Developed Countries (LDC) and Lower Income Countries (LIC), SN Power focuses on projects in Lower Middle Income Countries (LMIC) and Upper Middle Income Countries (UMIC).  Although hydropower technology is known in most LMIC  and UMIC countries, SN Power, through its 
rehabilitation work and construction processes, draws on Norwegian hydropower expertise and 
introduces state of the art-technologies in e.g. coating technologies of turbines and tunnel 
construction, also ensuring knowledge and technology transfer.    IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
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  18. From 2011 onwards Norfund has led the developm ent of a 40 MW hydropower plant in the 
Fula Rapids, South Sudan.  The project is done in  cooperation with the Government of the Republic 
of South Sudan and is the first project finance hydropower project in the country.  Norfund has drawn upon Norwegian expertise for the development of  the project from both Norplan and NTE (Nord-
Trøndelag Elektrisitetsverk).  The power plant will c ontribute extensively to the power supply in the 
country, where the current grid relies on merely 8 MW of power generated from diesel fueled 
aggregates. 
19. In Uganda, Norfund and the Norwegian hydro power company TrønderEnergi have built the 
13 MW Bugoye hydropower plant.  At full capacity it is expected to produce 82 GWh per year.  The plant is operated by Ugandans only and all empl oyees, except the managing director, are locals.  
TrønderEnergi has provided training in Norway for the technical staff at the power plant, and provides 
back-up technical support.  In 201 2 Norfund gave Bugoye grants to support its safety awareness work 
for children and young adults living in the vicinity of the power plant, and allow an ESG (environment, social, governance) expert residing in Norway to mentor the local health and safety manager. Norfund has also assisted with the develo pment of the Uganda GET FiT Programme.  This 
is an initiative intended to increase the number of renewable energy projects Uganda.  Due to low 
tariffs on supplying electricity to the national grids, many potential projects are currently not realized since they are not financially viable.  The GET FiT Programme will mitigate this by offering compensation on top of the national tariffs (feed-in-tariffs). 
Investments in the financial sector 
 
20. In Mozambique, Norfund and the Mozambican investment company GAPI, Rabobank and the 
German development bank KfW have invested in the bank Banco Terra, which targets the agricultural 
sector and rural areas. Norfund has provided grant support towards improving the Bank's IT platform 
and IT skills.  E.g. Norfund is co-financing a Norweg ian IT manager who, over a two year period, will 
help improve the Bank's IT systems, and train its employees so that the Bank can acquire the skills 
necessary to use and maintain its IT system goi ng forward.  Norfund is also supporting the 
implementation of an innovative digital archive solu tion that aims at improving the Bank's efficiency, 
especially in the rural branches. 
21. Norfund is currently working with the developm ent of financial institu tions in two fragile 
states, the Republic of South Sudan and Myanmar.  In South Sudan, Norfund has developed and co-
funded the investment company Kinyeti Capital Ltd.  The Company will offer financial services to 
small and medium sized enterprises in the areas surrounding Juba. Grant funding from Norfund, 
Swedfund and the Norwegian embassy in Juba as well as expertise from regional banks has been 
important for the establishment of the Company, and w ill continue to be for the next couple of years. 
Norfund has provides on of its own staff as the Companies first CEO.  
22. Norfund is also one of the founders of the No rwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), which is 
Norway's largest investor in microfinance.  Based on its experiences with NMI, Norfund is now in the 
process of establishing a new investment company that  will target financial institutions in Africa.  
23. In addition to financial institu tions, Norfund also invests in funds that focus on small and 
medium sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are important for local value creation and employment, but is generally too small and too diverse for Norfund to  invest in directly.  By investing through local 
and regional funds, Norfund can reach enterprises that  often have trouble getting finance from formal 
banks.  IP/C/W/580/Add.3 
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  Other activities 
 
24. In addition to the three main investment sectors,  Norfund also has some direct investments in 
other areas, e.g. tourism. Sustainable tourism is a vehicle to generate sustainable use of natural 
resources.  Through its investment in Basecamp Explorer in a conservancy bordering the Masai Mara 
in Kenya, Norfund has been instrumental in de veloping an equitable and sustainable tourism 
partnership between the Maasai landowners, tourism i nvestors and conservation interests.  The model 
is based on the application of sound eco-tourism princi ples and the transfer of the latest technology in 
energy generation and water harvesting.  In 2011 No rfund's grant facility supported the formalization 
of a master plan for the development of the conservancy, taking commercial, social and 
environmental sustainability into account.  This year Norfund has provided an additional grant to 
support the implementation of the master plan. 
25. For further information a nd details, please contact:  
Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (Norad) 
Department for Private Sector Development 
P.O. Box 8034 Dep., N-0030 Oslo, Norway 
Tel:  +47 22 24 20 30 Fax:  +47 22 24 20 31 Email:  postmottak@norad.no  
Website:  www.norad.no  
 
Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) 
P.O. Box 1280 Vika,  N-0111 Oslo, Norway Tel: +47 22 01 93 93 Fax: +47 22 01 93 94 
Email:  post@norfund.no  
Website:  www.norfund.no  
 
 
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