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President William Ruto meets Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, Andreas Enger in Oslo, Norway June 9, 2026. [PCS, Standard]
As Kenya embarks on creating a sovereign wealth fund, what lessons can we learn from Norway, the country with the world's largest sovereign wealth fund? Norway, a country of only 5.6 million people, has a sovereign wealth fund worth 2 trillion US dollars , larger than that of the United States with a population of 336 million.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, officially known as Government Pension Fund Global, was established after Norway discovered vast oil and gas reserves in the North Sea. Then as now, the aim is to ensure long-term management of Norway's gas and oil resources so that the wealth benefits both current and future generations.
What prompted Norway to establish a sovereign wealth fund? By the early 1990s, Norway was earning huge amounts of dollars from its oil and gas fields in the North Sea. A decision was made not to spend the windfall but to invest the earnings outside the Norwegian economy in order to cushion the economy from fluctuations in global oil prices.
