1 About the Fund
The fund’s name is Fremri Menntasjóður ehf, ID no. 560123-1830. The fund operates according to the arrangement and objectives set forth herein. The fund is created as a result of capital gains that Origo receives concurrentlyl with the sale of Tempo. Tempo started as an idea by Origo employees in 2008 and was fully sold in late 2022. Tempo's journey clearly demonstrated that dynamic staff, Icelandic ingenuity, and support can create great value in software. Origo continues to place great emphasis on innovation and software development as part of the company's culture and operations, and the fund is another pillar that has been set up in the hope that more software products can have as successful a trajectory as Tempo.
2 Initial Capital
The fund consists of ISK 500,000,000 initial capital. According to the decision of the shareholders' meeting, returns from the fund must be used for educational grants according to the procedures described herein. The initial capital shall remain immobile in the fund.
3 Financial and Legal Framework of the Fund
Fremri Menntasjóður ehf. is an independent fund (holding company) that is separate from Origo hf. Origo hf. is the sole owner and appoints the Board of the fund.
4 Investment Strategy
The main objective of the fund's investment strategy is the protection of the principal with low risk.
The fund will outsource the fund's asset management to two parties that specialise in the return of funds for companies, pension funds and individuals, and they will manage the fund based on the established investment strategy.
In general, it is assumed that 50% of the fund's capital is in asset management by each party. The Board of Menntasjóðurinn will annually review the performance of the asset manager.
5 Objectives of the Fund
The objective of the fund is to activate ingenuity and strengthen Origo's human resources for the future in the field of innovation and value creation. The fund is intended to speed up the accumulation of knowledge and experience in the development, sales and marketing of software products and technical solutions. The fund's focus is therefore primarily aimed at supporting innovation in software and technology development. The fund is also intended to strengthen commercial aspects related to the development of software products or technical solutions. Commercial aspects refers to service, sales and marketing of software as well as management, strategic planning, product development, profitability analysis and the like.
6 Education Grants
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, grants are awarded from the fund for education and they can be in the following categories:
- Grants to employees of Origo and subsidiaries for study or knowledge acquisition in the field of innovation, development of software and technical solutions, future technology, and business development.
- Education grant to develop young leaders at Origo and subsidiary with the aim of empowering young people for leadership and change management.
Origo can also take the initiative to allocate grants to selected individuals to strengthen certain skills or aspects of the operations. Origo can also decide to sponsor certain students/future employees of Origo to attend postgraduate studies at university level.
Grants are awarded to the aforementioned employees for further studies at university level or continuing education of the highest quality. The grants are mainly intended to cover the costs of school fees and travel depending on the circumstances related to studies. Grants are awarded for studies in subjects related to software development, innovation, business development, and leadership.
The aim of the grants is to contribute to the strengthening Origo employees by enabling them to obtain a diverse and international education of the highest quality. Furthermore, the aim of the grants is to further contribute to Origo's competitiveness and to ensure that the company can support the development of future skills and to ensure that there will not be a lack of knowledge in areas that the company is pursuing.
Examples of studies and courses that are not sponsored from this fund but go through another general process according to Origo's Education Policy are: General studies/university studies, language studies, leisure courses, and general or traditional on-the-job training (e.g. technical degrees, etc.).
7 The Fund’s Board and Allocation Committee
The fund's Board consists of Origo's CEO and Managing Director of Human Resources. The Board must keep meeting minutes and practice transparency in their method of work.
Applications are evaluated by the Allocation Committee. The Allocation Committee reviews the applications, evaluates them and provides an advisory opinion on grant awarding to the fund's Board. The fund's board makes the final decision on allocation.
Allocation Committee: Origo's educational specialist, manager of Hugbúnaðarlausnir, one expert and one middle manager at Origo.
8 Allocation From the Fund
Allocations are made from the fund at least once a year. The fund's Board can decide to allocate more than once a year.
The aim is to allocate at least ISK 20 mil. every year, although depending on the return cf. art. 2. The minimum grant amount is ISK 300,000. The maximum grant amount is ISK 3 million. The Board can make an exception to these rules, if it serves the company's interests and strategic priorities.
The Board of Origo decides at the beginning of each year how high the grant amount is for the current year based on the return of the previous year.
In the first year of the fund's operation, up to 5% of the initial capital may be used, and the first grants from the fund will be distributed in the first quarter of 2023.
Each year we provide scholarships according to the above. The total amount of grants varies from year to year and will take into account the grant amount and the return of the fund.
9 Applications for Grants
A grant is applied for through a form portal at Origo (in progress). Applications must include the following:
- Description of the studies for which the grant is applied for
- Duration of studies
- Estimated cost
- The amount being applied for
- Curriculum Vitae
- Justification for the application and how the studies relate to Origo's policy or strategy priorities
- Letter of motivation
- Describe why you are applying for a grant and how the grant can benefit you and Origo?
- Other information that may be useful during application review.
- Applicants are encouraged to submit all documents that might be useful in the evaluation of applications, e.g. previous grades, articles written by the applicant, and/or a summary on how the proposed studies are related to Origo's vision and priorities.
Based on the application, the Board and the Allocation Committee make a decision on the grant. Insufficient or incorrect information will result in the application being rejected.
The application deadline is 5 February every year, unless otherwise announced by the fund's Board at the beginning of the year. The Board is authorised to add more application deadlines and allocations within the year, and this is then notified following the allocation in the first half of the year.
10 Evaluation of Applications
When selecting applicants, the quality of the application, future vision, job performance and the employee's specialisation are taken into account. Fairness and equality shall be observed with respect to gender. Also considered are:
- That the studies are an investment in knowledge or skills that the company lacks in order to develop and/or market a product, solution or technology.
- An investment in future technologies or capabilities that can support Origo's competitive advantage.
- Applicant's justification and letter of motivation
- That the program the employee applies for is in line with the normal development of the employee and part of the journey of the company the employee works for.
- That the employees supervisor approves of the studies and supports it.
11 Agreement on Commitment
Grant recipients enter into an agreement with Origo on a commitment to work for the company or its subsidiaries for up to 2 years from the end of the studies. An agreement to that effect is entered into formally, concurrent with the allocation of a grant.