Let them come to Norway!

I know nothing about equity, venture capital, taxation and all the buzzwords of entrepreneurship, scaling and all that. But do not relocate to Norway if you are if you are looking for less resistance, full of bullshit or seeking fame and honor as the next billionaire. That′s the wrong spot! Norway is just not a playground and they really don′t believe the hype.

But you can still be a highly appreciated public figure by specific constituencies, just by telling what they expected from you. The invitations to fancy workshops, the medals and flowers will come, but not the funding or the rewarding mobility in public administration and in the private sector. I really love Norway for that.

This is a Norwegian cultural feature that Christer Dalsb?e, a Norwegian himself and co-founder at Braver, might have missed when warning entrepreneurs in the start-up game to come to Norway. Those willing to pave the way and grow international ecosystems should review their pitch and not repeat the global agenda to gain cultural acceptance, political trust and financial support. Norway said no to become member of the European Union, refusing to make of the country an experimental site for the European market and the global capitalist economy. Norway is just not buying the international hysteria about start-ups.

From Norway, I was one of the few for not saying the only person from the ethnic migrant communities to rise to the top of a public administration in Europe and North America without acquiring the nationality of the country of residence. This is not an achievement in itself, but rather reveals a state of mind and a deep conviction that the road to self-fulfillment is not be found through being publicly acclaimed, possessing a specific university degree or acquiring a European or US passport.

Do I really need to talk about all this? Yes, because Norway is the place to be for an intrepid, down to earth and courageous entrepreneur. I do not possess a masters degree from a prestigious university nor a wealth of certifications. My professional achievements could not be traced back to any specific established school of thoughts and methodologies cherished by experts of all sorts. I never consider conferences as a valuable arena to grow and nurture my network. I am not good at telling people what they want to hear. I never satisfied the diverse and conflicting constituencies in Norway looking for an alibi or to make of me an eternal victim of a racism that I did not created, but considered partly responsible for its eradication.

Yes, I know I did it all wrong. But who cares? My heroes in Norway are also those living in places where nobody would believe that anyone could live, “der ingen skulle tru at nokon kunne bu“. I got the message. I say myself as one of those heroes, having moved from Dakar to the outskirts of Flisa. I needed more than a red passport to survive in the wilderness. In fact, I saw a Norwegian passport as less valuable compared to the existing available tools and opportunities for a young man from Senegal. The passport was for me a diversion, a token that could put me so deep down in a state of illusion, and expectations to be taken care of by the welfare state, whatever might happen.

I did not preach the gospel of salvation through Norwegian citizenship. Engaging in the favorite exercise of multiculturalists, consisting of a never ending exotification and alienation of myself and African cultural practices, was out of question. As a young poor African in the mind of the majority, I could only be fair to myself by using my limited resources on self-fulfillment, personal development and social learning, to become more resilient, professionally aggressive and productive. I never got the medals as the first African citizen in Norway to break the so-called glass ceiling, may be because there were never such a ting as a glass ceiling. I was just another trouble shooter and a creative soul who is good at carving social experiment projects and designing innovative community development tools to address societal challenges.

As such, what could I tell all those youngsters and professionals chasing the next recognition and who are deeply convinced that there are specific requirements to fulfill, allowing them to be seen and heard and given space to reveal their harsh path to fame and honors. Why should they listen to me when I never surrender or followed recommendations from established institutions and experts to enlighten my path? My life journey, a regular story of professional success, resilience and disruptive transformative change at personal level, could be a scary one for those seeking safety and willing to fit into I don′t know what. I got more time to find ways and means to survive, one winter after the other, moving from one position to a higher one, year after year.

I was not looking for safety. There are still many fellow Africans and Asians in Norway, with a Norwegian passport but struggling to get a job or the position they deserve, and who still strongly believe that I made a very bad choice by never acquiring Norwegian citizenship. Norway is not a safe refuge and a haven although being marketed or seen as such for various reasons, and I got it right from the start in the early 1990′s. Norway is just not afraid of divergent minds. I understood that solutions were needed and that I was licensed to deliver, but no gimmicks. I happily start walking alone on a new a path of self-reconstruction and resource building, leaving behind the sad story of the glass ceiling shared on conferences, and defeated the exotic and entertaining figure of the sociable African man.

Thus, telling the story of the first private forest reserve in Senegal I created already in 1998 after 12 years of stay in Norway without any formal education or technical expertise in forestry or nature conservation at large, or the story of defiance that brought me to prominent postions in public administration, are not bedtime stories for people seeking safety and recognition. I freely opted for an early retirement in 2021, at the age of 59 to return back to Senegal and take care of the forest reserve.

Some people did appreciate this winning posture. Many felt threatened or confused, or simply suspected a lack of recognition from my side for not opting for a citizenship. They all got it wrong. Norway Rocks!

Gratulerer med Dagen, Norge!