Norrsken22 closes $205 million oversubscription from over 30 investors | TechCabal

Norrsken22, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, reached its final total of $205 million, $5 million more than targeted, to support African startups that are ready to scale, otherwise known as growth-stage startups.

First launched in January 2022 and raising an initial amount of $110 million, the Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund brings together high-net-worth Swedish founders including Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, iZettle co-founder Jacob de Geer and Delivery Hero co-founder Niklas Östberg as a partnership limited liability amplifier; Flutterwave co-founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola has also invested in the tech growth fund. According to TechCrunch, about 59% of the funding came from a consortium of 30 unicorn founders from around the world.

Institutional investors in the fund include Standard Bank Group Ltd., Norfund, British International Investment, International Finance Corporation and US International Development Finance Corporation.

In October, Africa-based venture capital firms announced deals worth $144.3 million (net of grants) based on data from funding tracker Africa: The Big Deal. According to the same report, $1.3 billion in deals have been announced since January, compared to $2.9 billion in 2022 and $3.3 billion in 2021.

At the same time, the pace of investment in African growth-stage startups has slowed; According to the analysis of data from Africa: The Big Deal, only 26 series A and subsequent transactions were disclosed in 2023. This compares unfavorably with 69 deals in the same category in 2022 and 76 in 2021. Large Continental Series A and newer deals accounted for the majority of venture capital investments as investments and valuations rapidly increased around the world. “We raised valuations almost every quarter,” one seed-stage venture capitalist told TechCabal.

Seed-stage venture capital firms have raised millions from local and international limited partners to find and support early-stage companies, but the pool of dedicated growth-stage capital on the continent remains limited. Norrsken22 is one of the few growth-stage funds dedicated to supporting African start-ups. Its sister asset manager, Africa Seed Fund, is currently in talks to raise additional capital to support early-stage companies building the next end of the pipeline.