More than 30 unicorn founders and institutions have provided their support to Norrsken22, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, to raise $205 million for new technology investments in the region.
The fund, backed by individuals like Niklas Zennström from SkypeStandard Bank Group, Niklas Östberg from Delivery Hero, and Olugbenga Agboola from Flutterwave, aims to identify the next generation of “tech giants” in sectors like fintech, edtech, and meditech across Africa, according to Natalie Kolbe, the managing partner at Norrsken22.
Their investments will primarily target startups in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt, with a goal of building a portfolio of around twenty investments in Africa’s emerging economies.
Africa is home to the world’s fastest-growing and youthful population, with a rising demand for tech services, driven by increased digital infrastructure investments and smartphone adoption, as well as the urbanization trend and the growing need for financial and healthcare services, creating opportunities for tech startups to expand their operations.
Additional backers of the fund include Standard Bank Group, Norfund, British International Investment, the International Finance Corporation, and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
Like the rest of the world, startup funding in Africa has faced a slowdown this year. The continent attracted approximately $2.5 billion in the first half of the year, as reported by Briter Bridges. Another venture capital fund, Partech, secured over $260 million for investments in Africa.
Source: Standard Bank Group