Where is the Norwegian Klarna or Spotify?

Grönlund, who has previously held leadership roles at PwC and Circle K, has extensive experience in bridging the gap between business and technology, product development, and digital innovation.

The Swede, who has lived in Norway for the past 20 years, encourages more Norwegian top executives to look to Sweden if the business community is to accelerate digital innovation.

– This is my first time attending Arendalsuka, and it's particularly interesting that Sweden is consistently highlighted as a leader in innovation and digital product and service development in almost all the debates I participated in, says Grönlund.

"Where is the Norwegian Klarna or Spotify?" the Swede asks rhetorically, referencing Forte Digital's debate "Can Norway become a digital underdeveloped country?" in which Fremtind, IKT-Norge, Abelia, and Nikolai Astrup (H) participated in the panel.

– If we are to believe the surveys presented in the debate, we are lagging behind the rest of the Nordics in terms of digital transformation. This is bad news for Norwegian businesses if we are to remain competitive in the future, especially when facing foreign companies. The surveys show that we have good digital skills in society in general, and that the public sector has made significant progress in its digital efforts. However, there has been a global wave of value creation within the technology sector over the past 20 years, in which we have not participated.

"Our neighboring countries are investing and have been far more successful in creating a new and sustainable business sector. The Transformation Barometer 2024 unfortunately gives many reasons to be concerned about Norway's future competitiveness and welfare society," said Øystein E. Søreide, CEO of Abelia, from the stage at Forte Digital's event in Arendal.

Grönlund believes that Norway's need to compare itself with countries like Sweden is symptomatic of the nation's (digital) condition.

– In Norway, people often look to Sweden, while in Sweden they frequently look to the large economies in Europe. We should compare ourselves on a global scale; that's where the competition will come from. That's where our level of ambition should be.

He refers to Abelia's Transformation Barometer 2024, which states that Norway lacks crucial expertise to develop a future-oriented business sector, and that Norwegian companies are the worst in the Nordics at adopting new technological solutions like artificial intelligence.

– We need to get better at adopting new technologies such as artificial intelligence. We should also aim to contribute to further developing it and creating new technology ourselves. Over the past 20 years, the world's most valuable companies have shifted from creating value based on raw materials to creating value based on smart use of data and new digital solutions. We have work to do if we want to take part in the value creation going forward.

Forte Digital's survey Forte Pulse 2024, which mapped the attitudes and opinions of Scandinavian top executives regarding digital maturity, also paints a similar picture, especially related to competence.

It reveals that a full 76.4% believe that leadership does not have the necessary skills and tools to manage digital transformation processes.

– My experience is that digitalization is often delegated to a product or technology function, and the need for changes in how business is conducted and the organization is led is underestimated. There is no doubt that digitalization can potentially yield significant gains. However, it requires an understanding of which business needs digital initiatives should address, not trying to solve everything at once, but starting with a specific opportunity, having clear criteria to measure the impact of efforts, and using this to get people on board and create momentum in the organization.

Can Norway Become a Digital Underdeveloped Country?

– I believe that anyone who doesn't invest risks falling behind. Nevertheless, I am optimistic and always see the future in a positive light. In Norway, we have a highly educated population, high trust, and a digital infrastructure that enables us to compete on the global stage. We need to create good framework conditions and incentives for those who are ambitious and want to put Norway on the global technology map."