Samherji founders celebrate 40 year anniversary with new investment hub supporting local entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs and businesses in northern Iceland could soon receive a boost in support from one of Iceland's largest seafood companies, Samherji, whose founders are launching a new investment hub for innovation in the northern city of Akureyri, in Eyjafjördur.

The Icelandic fishing and seafood processing company Samherji has been based in the Eyjafjördur region, in the north of Iceland, since it was founded in 1983.

And what better way to celebrate Samherji's 40 year anniversary than helping a new generation of homegrown entrepreneurs get started on their journey?

In this spirit, Samherji founders Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji, and Kristján Vilhelmsson, Managing Director of ship operations, have established Drift, a new company offering facilities and support to entrepreneurs and businesses in Samherji's hometown.

"We have always based Samherji's headquarters in Akureyri, operated the company's vessels from here and built well-equipped processing houses in Akureyri and Dalvík," said Baldvinsson.

"Now we want to create fertile ground for innovation in this historic building at Rádhústorg in Akureyri and thus further support the development of the economy in our local community."

Primary focus on value creation, in fields including food production, biotech, green solutions and fishing

Baldvinsson and Vilhelmsson said that Drift will focus on projects aimed at advancing value creation and cultivating future business growth within the Eyjafjördur area, and primarily within Samherji's main area of operation.

The thematic focus areas of the new company will include food production, health and medical products, biotechnology, software solutions for the fishing industry, and green solutions.

"The story of Samherji is essentially the story of an entrepreneurial and innovative company," Vilhelmsson said.

"We wanted to commemorate the 40th anniversary in a symbolic way and, by doing so, contribute to new stories of this kind being told here in our hometown. This December, exactly 40 years have passed since the vessel Akureyrin EA 10 embarked on its first fishing trip. The goal is for the old Landsbanki building to become a centre of innovation here in the Eyjafjördur area," Vilhelmsson added.

In the lead-up to founding Drift EA, consultations were held with domestic and international partners across various innovation sectors, and the company said this collaborative effort will continue over the coming months.

The goal is for Drift EA to commence operations in the first half of 2024, when the company's priorities will be presented in more detail, the founders said.