Norrsken22 has closed its first African technology growth fund at $205m, surpassing its target of $200m showing a strong investor interest in Africa’s young tech entrepreneurs.
Dubbed the Norrsken22 Africa Tech Growth Fund, the fund aims to make 20 investments with an average ticket size of $10 million and a maximum ticket size of $16 million, including follow-on rounds in several of its portfolio firms. It also intends to invest 40% of its capital, or $80 million, in Series A and B companies, with the rest in follow-on rounds from Series C up until exit.
Formed in 2022 by Klarna’s Niklas Adalberth and Northzone’s Hans Otterling, Norrsken22 is a debut fund focused on entrepreneurs developing fintech, edtech, medtech and market-enabling solutions like B2B marketplaces and inventory management businesses that will deliver strong returns and have a positive impact across Africa.
According to Niklas Adalberth, Founder of Norrsken Foundation, “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 pan-African and has teams on the ground in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana. The fund was supported by over 30 unicorn founders, including Olugbenga Agboola, co-founder Flutterwave, Niklas Zennström, co-founder Skype, Jacob de Geer, co-founder iZettle, Niklas Östberg, co-founder Delivery Hero, Carl Manneh, co-founder Mojang, Sebastian Knutsson, co-founder King and Willard Ahdritz, founder Kobalt Music. The fund was also backed by SEB Pension Foundation and family offices.
Since the fund’s first close, a number of high-profile institutional investors have joined the investor base including British International Investment (BII), International Finance Corporation (IFC), US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Standard Bank and Norfund.
“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,” said Natalie Kolbe, Managing Partner of Norrsken22. “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 including South African challenger bank Tyme Bank, African business-to-business digital commerce platform Sabi, Africa’s leading identity verification solution, Smile ID and auto financing platform Autochek.
The fund is also supported by an advisory council of business leaders from across the continent, contributing local business knowledge as well as global perspectives: Nonkululeko Nyembezi, Chairman Standard Bank Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, ex-Chief Executive, MTN and Shingai Mutasa, Founder and CEO, Masawara Plc.