Executive Primer: Nordic Impact 2025
Three things to know about Nordic impact in 2025 – an intro to the market and essential reading for anyone attending Impact Week Malmö.
1. The Nordics are global leaders in VC for impact
The Nordic countries lead the globe in the share of VC invested for impact. This has created a virtuous cycle of returns, credibility and additional investment, an effect seen in the region since at least 2020. Here are some more recent figures:
>In 2023, in the Nordic & Baltic region, 36 % of all venture capital went to impact startups — well above the 22 % European average and far higher than the U.S. (7 %) and Asia (8 %).
>Sweden stands out, with 48% of all VC flowing towards impact startups in 2023.
>In 2024, Nordic impact startups raised a record-breaking €650 million, 55 % of all early-stage startup funding and a 25% YoY increase. According to Impact Loop, this bucked the trend of market cooling in other regions of Europe.
Why it matters: The Nordics are the region to watch for impact VC. The lessons of key players in the region can light the way for European ecosystem builders seeking to increase the share of VC funding channeled into impact.
2. Innovation, tech and AI elevate the impact ecosystem
The thriving Nordic tech and innovation ecosystem strongly shapes the dominant impact themes and where capital flows. Tech founders have shown a propensity to shift capital into impact investing.
>Of the €650 million invested in impact startups (mentioned above), climate tech and energy led the way, accounting for more than half.
>In 2025, Norrsken VC committed €300 million to “AI for Good” — supporting climate, food and health tech innovations. Niklas Adalberth, founder of Klarna and Norrsken VC, pointed towards his track record with tech unicorns (Northvolt, Einride) as a foundation for his current goal of funding impact unicorns. As he said in Financial Times, “It gives me so much hope that the capital world has woken up. This is a tremendous business opportunity. That is why we are able to attract the top tier one LPs [limited partners]: they are not doing it because it does good, but because it’s good business.”
>Impact people in the Nordics would seem to learn from failures as well as successes. While one could argue that Northvolt was never an ‘impact startup’, the company is nevertheless widely discussed in impact circles. Now, the bankruptcy of Northvolt serves for some as a cautionary tale – about greentech hype, the investment ‘valley of death’ and the perils of growth at a breakneck pace.
Why it matters: The Nordics aren’t just an innovation cluster – they're an impactful innovation cluster, with the investments to prove it.
3. High public trust, more public-private collaboration
People who live in the Nordic countries have shown a history of putting trust in public institutions. Nordic investors tend to align with widely held values in social equality, and this has resulted in a culture that makes public-private partnerships a lot easier and more prevalent.
>From Finland’s public procurement experiments to Sweden’s outcome funds and bonds, Nordic investors actively cooperate with government to fund social solutions. For example, Vinnova, Sweden’s national innovation agency, invested over €4 million in social innovation between 2017–2019, funding projects such as assistive technologies for elderly citizens and healthcare screening solutions piloted in public institutions.
>Through organizations like Nefco, Norfund and the Nordic Development Fund, the Nordics have long-standing blended finance institutions that structure shared-risk investments, particularly targeting climate tech and emerging markets.
>Earning EIF backing: The EIF has backed Norrsken’s funds, previously mentioned; more recently, they invested around €25 million in Momentum III, a Norwegian climate and environmental impact fund focused on early-stage greentech.
Why it matters: Since investors for impact often pursue public-private partnerships – 4Ps, too – it’s worth examining the practices of a region that does these partnerships well and often.
Bonus: Malmö
Malmö may be small, but the city has an outsize profile for impact. As a hub for impact startups and innovation, it typifies the aforementioned Nordic impact trends. It’s also a place where public and private come together for projects in food systems transformation and urban regeneration, both of which will get the spotlight on the first day of the Impact Week programme.
But to see the soul of Nordic impact for yourself, you’ll have to check it out in person. Tickets are available now.