Africa is on the verge of a tech revolution, as a new venture capital fund backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs aims to support the next generation of African tech giants.
Norrsken22, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, has raised $205 million from more than 30 unicorn founders and institutions, including Skype’s Niklas Zennström, Delivery Hero’s Niklas Östberg, and Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola.
The fund seeks promising startups in fintech, edtech, and Meditech that can leverage the continent’s fast-growing and youthful population, digital infrastructure, and smartphone adoption.
Norrsken22’s managing partner, Natalie Kolbe, said in an interview that the fund will mainly target startups in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt, which are the beacon economies of Africa.
“We have made five investments to date, including in Tyme Bank in South Africa,” she said. “We would like to build out a portfolio of about twenty investments in the beacon economies of Africa.”
Tyme Bank is a digital bank that offers low-cost and accessible banking services to millions of unbanked and underbanked customers in South Africa. It is one of the fastest-growing banks in the country, with over 4 million customers as of October 2023.
Norrsken22 is not the only fund bullish on Africa’s tech potential. According to Briter Bridges, a data and research firm, the continent attracted about $2.5 billion in funding for startups during the first half of 2023 despite the global economic slowdown. Another venture capital fund, Partech, raised over $260 million to deploy on the continent earlier this year.
Norrsken22’s investors include some leading names in the global tech industry, such as Standard Bank Group, Norfund, British International Investment, the International Finance Corporation, and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
They also share a vision of using technology to create a positive and scalable impact on the continent, as well as generating attractive returns for their investors.
Norrsken22 is part of the Norrsken Foundation, a Swedish non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs and startups in solving some of the world’s biggest challenges, such as poverty, climate change, and health.
The fund’s name is inspired by the northern lights, or aurora borealis, a natural phenomenon that lights up the sky in the northern hemisphere. The fund hopes to create a similar effect in Africa by illuminating the continent’s tech talent and opportunities.
Norrsken22 believes that Africa is the next frontier for innovation and growth and that the continent’s tech ecosystem is ready to produce world-class companies that can compete globally.
“We are very excited to be part of this journey and to support the entrepreneurs who are building the future of Africa,” Kolbe said.
Source: Bloomberg
