Norrsken Foundation
| Formation | 30 June 2016.[1] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Niklas Adalberth |
| Founded at | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Type | Nonprofit organization, Impact investor |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
CEO | Erik Engellau-Nilsson[2] |
| Website | norrskenfoundation |
Norrsken Foundation is a Swedish non-profit, non-religious and non-partisan foundation which supports and invests in entrepreneurs that have a positive impact on society[2] by working with the world’s greatest challenges, such as poverty, famine, environmental issues, mental health and discrimination. It was created by Niklas Adalberth, one of the founders of the fintech company Klarna.
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.[3] That same year, a co-working space of 2400 square meters named Norrsken House was opened in a repurposed tram depot in Stockholm.[4] In 2020 Norrsken House hosted more than 450 entrepreneurs from over 130 companies.[5][6]
Investments
Direct investments
After the initial launch in 2016, the co-founders of Mojang, King and Daniel Wellington seeded a $34 million fund.[7][8] Investments in the companies hosted by the foundation range from $100,000 to $1 million.[3]
In 2019, Norrsken closed a new investment fund that will invest 100 million euros in new companies focused on sustainability.[9] In 2020 the EU invested in Norrskens fund through the European Investment Fund (EIF), along with Nordic banks Nordea and SEB.
Private equity investments
In 2018 Norrsken Foundation partnered with private equity firm Nordic Capital[10]
Norrsken House
Norrsken House is a co-working space.[3] Companies trying to solve a social problem get a 50% discount on their membership at Norrsken House. In mid-2017, 70% of the companies in the foundation were in this situation.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Norrsken Foundation - Crunchbase".
- ^ a b "The Team - Norrsken Foundation". norrskenfoundation.org. 2018-08-16.
- ^ a b c "With Norrsken House, ex-Klarna executive envisions a global network of co-working spaces focused on impact". techcrunch.com. 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Klarna-founder's new innovation hub will combine tech and social impact". nordic.businessinsider.com. 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "This Stockholm building to house huge social startup hub". thelocal.se. 2016-09-05. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "Norrsken Foundation". www.norrsken.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "The billionaire founders of Klarna and Daniel Wellington just announced a new 'first of its kind' tech fund". nordic.businessinsider.com. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ^ "Klarna-grundaren satsar halv miljard på sociala entreprenörer". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "Backas av tungviktare – nu stänger Norrsken ny miljardfond". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-03-30.
- ^ "Nordic Capital and Norrsken Foundation partner up to strengthen impact entrepreneurs". nordiccapital.com. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "Klarna co-founder seeks to spur European tech giving". ft.com. 2017-08-23.