Norrsken22 closes African tech fund at $205m
Norrsken22 announced today that it has closed its first African technology growth fund at $205 million, surpassing its target of $200 million.
Norrsken22 was formed in 2022 by Niklas Adalberth – founder of the Norrsken Foundation and payments unicorn Klarna – and Hans Otterling – partner of technology investment firm Northzone. Norrsken22’s investment team is led by Natalie Kolbe, previously the global head of private equity at Actis, and includes her former Actis colleague Ngetha Waithaka in Kenya, as well as Lexi Novitske, who founded Acuity Venture Partners in Nigeria. Norrsken22 has teams on the ground in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana.
Niklas Adalberth, founder of Norrsken Foundation, said: “Africa has the youngest population globally and its upcoming digital-first generation is the future of Africa – and the world. We’re delighted to announce this final close and with the support the fund has received. There are huge opportunities in Africa. We are excited to continue our mission of driving funding into African tech, and creating jobs and sustainable growth in the region.”
Norrsken22 is focused on entrepreneurs developing fintech, edtech, medtech and market-enabling solutions that will deliver strong returns and have a positive impact across Africa.
Since the fund’s first close, a number of institutional investors have joined the investor base: British International Investment, International Finance Corporation, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Standard Bank and Norfund.
Natalie Kolbe, managing partner of Norrsken22, said: “The timing of the fund ideally positions Norrsken22 to support a growing African tech tailwind. The transformative power of technology can leapfrog traditional ways of doing business, and Africa has the opportunity to lead the world with its solutions. We are excited to be partnering with so many promising startups that can have a positive impact across Africa. We are delighted to see an active and growing early-stage investor community growing across the continent, however we still see a gap at growth stage tech funding in the continent. We see a huge opportunity here, and are excited to continue investing at this stage.”
Norrsken22 has already made five investments. The portfolio includes South African challenger bank Tyme Bank; business-to-business digital commerce platform Sabi; identity verification solution Smile ID; and auto financing platform Autochek.
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