Stockholm-based Norrsken, a non-profit foundation focused on solving the world’s greatest challenges, announced on Tuesday the 2023 Impact/100, the annual ranking that shines a spotlight on the top 100 companies that are changing the world for the better.
Positioning itself as a modern-day equivalent to the Nobel Prize, the Impact/100 list celebrates companies tackling global problems like poverty, famine, environmental issues, and mental health.
The Impact/100 assesses companies’ impact potential, defined as ‘driving measurable, positive progress against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.’
The annual list, dubbed the ‘Nobel Prize for Impact’, was created in 2022.
The companies will not be ranked, but two winners will be announced. The jury and the other will choose one winner through public voting.
Voting will close at Stockholm Impact Week, which takes place in September 2023, and the winners will be announced shortly after that.
How do startups benefit from Impact/100?
All Norrsken Impact/100 companies will be given a free one-year Membership to a Norrsken House of their choice in Stockholm, Kigali, or Barcelona.
It connects them to a global ecosystem of thousands of startup founders, investors, and operators dedicated to driving positive impact through their businesses.
Over 700 companies were put forward by over 30 nomination partners, and a jury from the world’s leading impact and venture capital organisations selected the top 100 companies.
Paebbl, a Rotterdam-based company on a mission to put a lot of CO2 to good use in solid carbonate materials, has also secured a spot in the top 100.
Criteria to be a 2023 Impact/100
The Norrsken Impact/100 comprises of:
- Companies where having a positive global impact is an intrinsic and non-negotiable part of their business model
- High-risk, high-potential ventures that aim to grow quickly by leveraging scalable technology
- Businesses that can successfully combine commercial viability with positive global impact
- Companies that have delivered at least a minimum viable product (MVP) to market, and/or have raised at least seed or series A funding
The Impact/100 was judged by an independent panel of experts, including:
- Agnes Svensson, Chief Impact Officer, Norrsken VC
- Guy Vidra, Partner, Collab Fund
- Daria Saharova, Founding Partner, World Fund
- Hugo Leandri, CEO, Brimstone
- Terese Hougaard, Partner, Atomico
Nomination partners
The nomination partners are:
- Obama Foundation
- Footprint Coalition
- Khosla Ventures
- The Engine
- Fifty Years
- DCVC
- Katapult
- Unreasonable
- AENU
- World Fund
- Acumen
- Leaps by Bayer
- SEIF
- Mudcake, formerly Trellis Road
- Earthshot Prize
- Ship2B Ventures
- Seaya Andromeda
- Softbank
- EQT Foundation
- Voyager Ventures
- BMW Foundation
- Top Tier Impact
- Collab Fund
- Gates Foundation
- Atomico
- Re:think Impact
- Norrsken Accelerator
- Norrsken VC
- Norrsken22
European startups in annual 100/Impact list
The list includes 36 startups from Europe. They are:
- 011h (Spain)
- Ada Health (Berlin, Germany)
- AirForestry (Uppsala, Sweden)
- Altruistiq (London, UK)
- Augmenta (Athens, Greece)
- BeZero Carbon (London)
- BLUU Seafood (Berlin, Germany)
- Paebbl (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
- CemVision (Stockholm, Sweden)
- ClimateView (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Climeworks (Zurich, Switzerland)
- ConstellR (Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
- Cylib (Aachen, Germany)
- Einride (Stockholm, Sweden)
- EnginZyme (Solna, Sweden)
- Formo (Berlin, Germany)
- Genomines (Paris, France)
- Heart Aerospace (Goteborg, Sweden)
- InnovaFeed (Paris, France)
- Kitekraft (Munich, Germany)
- KRAFTBLOCK (Sulzbach, Germany)
- Material Evolution (Tesside, UK)
- Mitiga Solutions (Barcelona, Spain)
- Neoplants (Paris, France)
- Northvolt (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Notpla (London)
- Piclo (London)
- Plan A (Berlin, Germany)
- Planet A Foods (Munich, Germany)
- Proximie (London)
- Recycleye (London)
- Spoor (Oslo, Norway)
- SQUAKE (Berlin, Germany)
- Submer (Barcelona, Spain)
- Traceless Materials (Hamburg, German)
- Vara (Berlin, Germany)
Norrsken Foundation: Solving the world’s greatest challenges
Founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, Norrsken Foundation aims to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
It has created a global impact ecosystem where founders can find the knowledge, capital, and network they need to make saving the world their business.
The foundation runs Norrsken House in Sweden and Norrsken House in Kigali, East Africa’s largest hub for startups.
Norrsken incubated Norrsken VC, a $130M venture capital fund that invests in startups solving the world’s biggest problems.
Norrsken also launched Norrsken 22, a $200M growth fund backing Africa’s new tech unicorns.
It also manages the Norrsken Impact Accelerator, a seed fund that finds and scales the world’s most promising early-stage impact startups.
Adalberth says, “The 100 companies on this year’s Impact/100 demonstrate the potential of startup companies to help address some of the greatest challenges facing our world. We want to hold them up as examples of what the rest of the global community of tech founders and investors should be aspiring to. The business world desperately needs better role models. I want to see a world where the next generation of founders are inspired by entrepreneurs who are positively impacting the world and not just focused on growth and profitability.”
“There is an under-investment in impact companies and that needs to change. Through initiatives like Impact/100, Norrsken intends to raise the profile of impact companies to other investors. If these companies raise more capital, they can do more. If they win, we all win,” adds Adalberth.
