Flutterwave CEO, Others Set Up $200m Fund To Boost Growth-Stage Startups In Africa
Niklas Adalberth’s Norrsken Foundation has partnered with Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola as well as thirty unicorn entrepreneurs and a few seasoned venture capital and private equity investors to create a $200 million fund aimed at African growth-stage startups.
This is coming barely two months after launching its Norrsken House in Kigali, Rwanda, which will house hundreds of entrepreneurs by next year.
According to a statement obtained from TechCrunch, the fund, branded the Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund, has reached its initial close of $110 million.
The Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund is Norrsken’s newest fund, after the closure of a €125 million impact fund for European companies in March.
Norrsken22’s $110 million first close includes $65 million from a worldwide group of unicorn entrepreneurs.
Co-founder of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola; co-founder of Skype, Niklas Zennström; co-founder of iZettle, Jacob de Geer; and, co-founder of Delivery Hero, Niklas Stberg, are among the unicorn entrepreneurs who have invested.
Carl Manneh, co-creator of Mojang, Sebastian Knutsson, co-founder of King, and Willard Ahdritz, founder of Kobalt Music, are also on the list.
Aside from financing, the unicorn founders will advise entrepreneurs on how to grow their businesses from series A to billion-dollar firms, according to the founding partners.
According to the partners, the Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund is also backed by a local advisory council board. This board will assist portfolio businesses in navigating business obstacles across Africa.
The Norrsken22 fund will finance companies in fintech, healthtech, edtech, and market-enabling technologies, including B2B marketplaces and inventory management firms.
The company plans to achieve this by relying on its general partners’ years of expertise and investing philosophies.