Niklas Adalberth

Co-Founder at Norrsken22 · Joined 2022

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Biography

Niklas Adalberth co-founded Klarna in 2005 and helped build it into one of Europe's largest online payment companies before turning to impact-focused venture building through the Norrsken Foundation, which he founded in 2016 and which now runs Norrsken House co-working hubs in Stockholm and Kigali for impact entrepreneurs. He co-founded Norrsken22 in January 2022 with Hans Otterling, a partner at Northzone, to address a specific gap he'd identified in African venture capital: an abundance of pre-seed and seed capital but a real shortage of growth-stage funding for companies ready to scale. The fund's $205 million debut close in November 2023 was backed by more than 30 unicorn founders, including Flutterwave's Olugbenga Agboola and Skype's Niklas Zennström, and Norrsken22 has since backed TymeBank, Sabi, Smile Identity, Autochek, and Shara - all still-private growth-stage African companies.

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

TymeBankAutochekSmile Identity

Career Timeline

2005
Co-founds Klarna, which grows into one of Europe's largest online payment companies.
2016
Founds the Norrsken Foundation, building Norrsken House co-working hubs for impact entrepreneurs.
2022
Co-founds Norrsken22 with Hans Otterling in January, based in Kigali, Rwanda.
2023
Closes Norrsken22's debut African Tech Growth Fund at $205 million in November, above its $200 million target.

Sources & References

TechCrunch ↗Norrsken22 ↗