€100m tech fund to solve world’s problems

THE former boss of Europe’s largest financial technology firm has launched a €100m (£85m) fund to funnel money towards firms which seek to solve the world’s biggest problems.

Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Swedish bank Klarna, has set up the project through his Norrsken Foundation to boost start-ups tackling issues such as climate change, food waste, poverty and healthcare. It comes as customers across the West increasingly seek out ethical products.

Mr Adalberth said: “I think we are following in a macro trend here. Consumers

want to buy more sustainable goods than ever before.”

The fund has already secured €65m, and will have raised €100m by April, making it the largest European player in so-called impact investing. Backers include Mojang, developer of video game Minecraft, as well as the family office of fashion firm H&M, Klarna and Saminvest, Sweden’s state investor.

The Norrsken Foundation has been attempting to prove it is possible to turn a profit from ethical industries. It previously raised €45m for a first fund, which placed bets on 19 start-ups two years ago. One was London-headquartered Karma, which allows users of its app to buy unsold, surplus food from restaurants at a reduced price.

Agate Freimane, a former banker at Morgan Stanley and investment manager at the Norrsken Foundation, said: “Impact investing has not been believed to be able to generate market returns and make the world a better place at the same time, but we really think that’s changing.”

She added that companies with a social purpose are in a good position to hire the best talent, and highlighted the UK as a country where start-ups with big ideas can grow fast due to ethical investing’s popularity and the City’s huge financial clout.