Norrsken Foundation is a non-profit, non-religious and non-partisan foundation dedicated to helping entrepreneurs solve the world’s greatest challenges, such as poverty, famine, mental health, pollution and climate change. It has raised several venture capital funds, manages an accelerator program for early-stage startups and operates co-working spaces in Stockholm, Sweden and Kigali, Rwanda. Norrsken was created by Niklas Adalberth, one of the founders of the

fintech Fintech, a portmanteau of "financial technology", refers to firms using new technology to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data are r ...

company

Klarna Klarna Bank AB, commonly referred to as Klarna, is a Swedish fintech company that provides online financial services such as payments for online storefronts and direct payments along with post-purchase payments. The company has more than 4,000 ...

History

Norrsken Foundation was created in June 2016 by Klarna founder Niklas Adalberth, who contributed $20 million to the launch. In December 2017 Adalberth committed an additional $62 million to Norrsken Foundation. That same year, a co-working space of 2400 square meters named Norrsken House was opened in a repurposed tram depot in Stockholm. In 2020 Norrsken House hosted more than 450 entrepreneurs from over 130 companies.

Investments

Direct investments

After the initial launch in 2016, the co-founders of

Mojang Mojang Studios is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game ''Minecraft'', the best-selling video game of all time. Mojang Studios was founded by the independent ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and

Daniel Wellington Daniel Wellington is a Swedish brand founded in 2011 by Filip Tysander. Since its inception, Daniel Wellington has sold over 6 million watches; the company has gained this success through its digital strategy in social networks like Instagram. ...

seeded a $34 million fund. Investments in the companies hosted by the foundation range from $100,000 to $1 million. In 2019, Norrsken closed a new investment fund, Norrsken VC, that will invest 100 million euros in new companies focused on sustainability. In 2020 the EU invested in the Norrsken fund through the

European Investment Fund The European Investment Fund (EIF), established in 1994, is a financial institution for the provision of finance to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), headquartered in Luxembourg. It is part of the European Investment Bank Group. It ...

(EIF), along with Nordic banks

Nordea Nordea Bank Abp, commonly referred to as Nordea, is a European financial services group operating in northern Europe and based in Helsinki, Finland. The name is a blend of the words "Nordic" and "idea". The bank is the result of the successive m ...

and SEB. In 2021, Norrsken closed a $200 million Africa-focused investment fund, Norrsken 22, aimed at backing a new generation of African tech unicorns. Norrsken is an investor in

Northvolt Northvolt AB is a Swedish battery developer and manufacturer, specializing in lithium-ion technology for electric vehicles. History The company was founded as SGF Energy in 2015 by Peter Carlsson (now chief executive), who was formerly an ex ...

Einride Einride AB is a Swedish transport company based in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in electric and self-driving vehicles known as Einride pods (formerly T-pods). The pods are electric trucks remotely controlled by drivers, and are notable for thei ...

and Heart Aerospace among other companies.

Private equity investments

In 2018 Norrsken Foundation partnered with private equity firm

Nordic Capital Nordic Capital private equity funds focus on investments primarily in Northern Europe. Nordic Capital invests in selective industries with a particular focus on Healthcare, Tech & Payments and Financial Services. In addition selective investments ...

Co-working spaces

Norrsken operates Norrsken House in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, a co-working space for entrepreneurs trying to solve social problems. In 2019, Norrsken announced the construction of Norrsken House East Africa, a co-working space for entrepreneurs in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Norrsken House Kigali opened to the public in December 2021. In October 2023 Norrsken will open the new Norrsken House Barcelona: Europes's biggest hub for tech and impact.

References