New investment fund led by executives from top Nordic banks and fintechs targets B2B, infrastructure players driving efficiency throughout the ecosystem
Wellstreet announced today the launch of the our new fintech fund with an anticipated total of approximately $40 million USD.
Backed by top executives from leading Nordic banks and fintech companies including Avanza, Collector, Handelsbanken, Swedbank, Northmill, Resurs and Klarna, the VC fund was created to drive greater efficiencies throughout the global finance and banking ecosystem. To achieve that goal, Wellstreet plans to make up to 20 investments in early stage B2B service and infrastructure technology providers with global business models and innovative solutions.
The Fintech Fund is the second for our firm, which was founded by former Klarna executive Mikael Wintzell. The company’s first fund, the Wellstreet Ventures, closed at a total raise of approximately $20 million USD in 2020. Now fully invested in companies including electric boat innovator X Shore, ad tech provider DanAds and sportswear brand ICANIWILL, the fund has achieved a 70 percent return rate in just three quarters. Additionally, the fund’s success is driving interest in the portfolio companies from international industry players and later-stage financiers. Wellstreet anticipates a similar, accelerated timeline for the Fintech Fund, having made its first two investments prior to the first close.
With an aggressive, hands-on approach that includes operational support as well as financial investment, Wellstreet has quickly established itself as an important player in the Nordic tech scene and beyond. Our successful exits to date include digital electricity supplier Tibber (backed by Founders Fund), live video shopping platform Bambuser (backed by Capital Group, Tenth Avenue and Harmony Partners, among others) and Checkin.com (one of the best IPOs in Sweden in 2021). We operate Scandinavia's largest tech and innovation hub in Stockholm, The Factory, which includes the Wellstreet Launchpad (in partnership with Google for Startups) and the Fintech Loft (in collaboration with Amazon Web Services [AWS]).
The fund will be managed by Armando Coppola, who has a background from Avanza and Nordnet, among others. The chair of the investment committee is held by the finance profile Ann Öberg. The fund has received strong support from a number of well-known financial profiles including Lena Apler (founder of Collector), Hikmet Ego (co-founder of Northmill Bank), Ola Laurin (CEO of PayEx and chairman of Swedbank Hypotek), Kenneth Nilsson (former CEO of Resurs Bank), and Hans Westin, (co-founder of Resurs Bank). The fund has also attracted business profiles such as Noel Abdayem (founder of The Humble Co.) and Konrad Bergström (founder of Zound Industries and X Shore).
All startups that receive investment from the Fintech Fund will automatically become part of the Fintech Loft, which will provide them with mentoring and coaching as well as credits from AWS to accelerate product development. With a global network of partners including banks (BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Nordea) and accelerators (Level39, WEVE Acceleration [formerly NUMA New York]), Wellstreet also offers portfolio companies access to space in over 40 locations around the world to facilitate global scale.
“Banking is among the most highly regulated industries in the world, and as a result, It has been unable to evolve at the same pace as its less-regulated fintech peers. Still, banking remains the backbone of the entire global financial system, so its inefficiencies ultimately affect all the other parts of the value chain,” said Armando Coppola, partner and fund manager at Wellstreet. “The main objective of the Fintech Fund is to help banks and other financial institutions adapt to new market standards and become more efficient, and we believe we will achieve this by investing in and nurturing the fast-developing technologies and startups whose solutions address the challenges of our existing financial infrastructure.”
.png)
.jpeg)
