The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank

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The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
The State of Nordic
Impact Start-ups 2020
Impact start-ups are increasingly being acknowledged as powerful engines
for change and sustainable growth. Yet a number of widely held beliefs prevail
and threaten to hinder the progress of the Nordic impact start-up ecosystem.
This report explores 10 of the most common myths, and assesses the status
quo of impact start-ups in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
Content
04   Foreword by Danske Bank

06   Summary

08   Introduction

11   10 myths about the Nordic impact space

12   Myth 1: The Nordic countries are global leaders
     within the impact space

24   Myth 2: Nordic impact start-ups are solving the
     most pressing global challenges

34   Myth 3: Impact start-ups are a special breed of
     start-up

38   Myth 4: Impact requires a trade-off between
     purpose and profit

40   Myth 5: Impact start-ups have fundamentally
     different business models than ‘regular’ start-ups

44   Myth 6: Impact start-up founders lack business
     experience

47   Myth 7: There are more women founders in the
     impact start-up scene

50   Myth 8: Impact cannot be measured

54   Myth 9: The majority of Nordic impact start-ups
     promote their SDGs

57   Myth 10: Investors lack data on impact start-ups

60   Appendix: About this report - definitions,
     methodology and data

                                                          3
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
FOREWORD BY DANSKE BANK

State of Nordic Impact
Start-ups 2020
We are now only 10 years from 2030, the year 193                   Findings
countries pledged to reach the UN Sustainable Development          There are some specific learnings in the report that we find
Goals. There is still a long way to go and many solutions need     extremely interesting and promising. For instance the fact that
time to scale, which leaves us with a great deal of urgency.       we have identified a record high 1018 impact start-ups this
                                                                   year, and that a lot of them have similar business models in
In Danske Bank, we are a true believer in the power of             comparison to ‘normal’ scalable tech start-ups.
business to find innovative solutions and new ways of doing
things that will create new solutions to the challenges that our   We see that the majority of the impact start-ups are based on
planet and societies face. In particular, we have high hopes       scalable business models that have the potential to work on
that impact start-ups will be the role models for a new type of    normal early stage investor terms. These start-ups integrate
business, where the business idea itself creates sustainable       impact in a way that goes hand-in-hand with profit, and almost
values. They have no legacy that blurs their focus and delays      half of the founders of the Nordic impact start-ups have prior
their speed, and they are ready to take risks and bring            entrepreneurial experience. Women CEOs and founders are
innovation and new technologies to the table. Furthermore,         well represented in impact start-ups, but we firmly believe
they have an agile mindset through which they can react to         that these numbers could and should improve – especially in
market changes with high speed.                                    deep tech - as diverse companies overall tend to generate
                                                                   better results for the business, as well as society.
Insights are needed to mature the ecosystem
In Danske Bank, we are dedicated to help these start-ups           The Nordic ecosystem has great prerequisites for being a well
scale their business and thus increase their positive impact.      performing impact ecosystem, but we, in the ecosystem need to
We have a large suite of activities, which support the impact      pick up the pace. If the Nordics are to become an epicentre for
start-up ecosystem. We have trained growth advisors to             impact start-ups, we need to move beyond the converted few.
understand startups and established the +impact platform
and our +impact accelerator.                                       When we started this report, COVID-19 was not present,
                                                                   and we still don’t know the full scale of the consequences.
An important element is documentation - like this report –         However, this does not change the conclusions, and in many
through which we provide data-driven insights on the Nordic        ways, it has just made it even more pressing that we need
impact start-up scene in order to facilitate a more fact based     to mainstream the impact agenda.
dialogue and help put the spotlight on the needs and
development of the start-up community.                             Klavs Hjort, Head of Growth & Impact at Danske Bank

Since we did the first report three years ago, impact start-ups    Maria Simonson, Head of Societal Impact & Sustainability,
have become the talk of the town, both in the Nordic               Danske Bank
countries and on a global scale. Today, the question is
therefore not so much to create awareness, but to
understand how we can accelerate the ecosystem and to
create larger transparency especially for investors. This is
also the reason why we this year have focused the report on
breaking or confirming the myths that seem to be a
hindrance for accelerating impact businesses.

4                                                                                                                                    5
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
Summary
Since we published our first insights report on Nordic             A key overall finding is that the Nordics countries have a      MYTH #1 The Nordic countries are global leaders within impact start-ups.
Impact start-ups in 2018, we have experienced an                   growing number of impact start-ups, maturing to a point         PARTLY FALSE The Nordic ecosystem has great prerequisites but the UK is the best
increasing interest in impact start-ups from a range of            where they are beginning to resemble regular growth stage
                                                                                                                                   performing impact ecosystem in Europe.
ecosystem players.                                                 start-ups. This can be interpreted from a number of sub-
                                                                   findings: a) many of the impact start-ups seem to have more
This enthusiasm for impact tech supports our belief that the       in common with their conventional counterparts in the same      MYTH #2 Nordic impact start-ups are solving the most pressing
Nordic region can become an epicenter for impact start-ups.        vertical than with other impact start-ups; b) the majority of   global challenges.
However, when we talk to investors and start-up founders,          the start-ups’ are based on potentially scalable business       PARTLY FALSE The majority of the Nordic impact start-ups are focusing on solving local
we still find that there are several narratives that are holding   models that have the potential to work on regular early
back the space.                                                    stage investment terms, c) 98% of the impact-start-ups
                                                                                                                                   problems in high-income markets, fewer focus on solutions which will move the needle on the
                                                                   integrate impact in their business model to enhance profit      underlying SDG indicators.
In, The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 we have              and d) 45% of the founders have significant entrepreneurial
therefore identified 10 of the most widely beliefs, that are       experience. We are seeing positive progress on many fronts      MYTH #3 Impact start-ups are a special breed of start-ups.
preventing the Nordic impact ecosystem from being taken to         amongst Nordic impact. However, there is still a way to go
                                                                                                                                   PARTLY FALSE The impact start-ups differ in type of impact and scalability - some with the
the next level. This forms the foundation for the exploration      if we are to move the needle on the UN’s 2030 agenda for
of 10 myths, where we try to give clear answers to complex         sustainable development.                                        same mindset as their conventional counterparts.
solutions through data driven insights.
                                                                                                                                   MYTH #4 Impact requires a trade-off between purpose and profit.
                                                                                                                                   FALSE 98% of Nordic impact start-ups integrate impact to
                                                                                                                                   improve top and bottom-line.

1018                                          Top 4 SDGs                                                                           MYTH #5 Impact start-ups have fundamentally different business
                                                                                                                                   models than non-impact start-ups.
                                                                                                                                   FALSE Impact start-ups’ business models are similar to regular start-ups.

IMPACT START-UPS                                                                                                                   MYTH #6 Impact start-up founders lack business experience.
                                                                                                                                   FALSE Impact start-up founders have significant business experience.

                                                                                                                                   MYTH #7 There are more women founders in the
                                                                                                                                   impact start-up scene.
                                                                                                                                   TRUE 24% of impact start-ups founders are women.

                                                                                                                                   MYTH #8 Impact cannot be measured.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION                                                                                                          PARTLY FALSE Impact measurement is still in its infancy, but 20% of Nordic impact
IMPACT START-UPS                                                                                                                   start-ups quantify their impact performance indicators.

            35%                                                                                    27%
                                                                                                                                   MYTH #9 The majority of Nordic impact start-ups promote their SDGs.
                                                                                                                                   FALSE Only 10% of Nordic impact start-ups mention the SDGs.

                                                                                                                                   MYTH #10 Investors lack data on impact start-ups.
                                                                                                                                   PARTLY FALSE The data is just as imperfect as for non-impact start-ups.
            DENMARK                                                                                SWEDEN

            21%                                                                                    16%
            FINLAND                                                                                NORWAY

6                                                                                                                                                                                                                                7
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
Introduction
This is the third time we map Nordic start-ups addressing
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The aim of this report
We believe that the Nordic countries hold the prerequisites         topics we explore. As the space develops further, so will our
and potential to become a global epicentre for impact start-        leaning. As such, we hope this report will help to move the
ups. Our early adoption of the green agenda, balanced welfare       conversation in the right direction and ultimately accelerate
societies and thriving start-up ecosystems stand us in good         progress in the Nordic impact start-up space.
stead to take this pole position.
                                                                    Who would benef it from this report
Though we have the necessary mindset and attributes,                This report is primarily intended for the investment
we cannot sit back and expect for this to happen without            community and aims to help early investors gain data-driven
concerted strategies and interventions. In order to make this       insights into this growing space. The report is also intended
a reality and reach this goal, we must continue to actively         to benefit the broader ecosystem as it reveals data-driven
support the scaling of impact start-ups, help build the right       insights that can ignite further discussion on how best to
capabilities amongst founding teams, and connect impact             accelerate the Nordic impact start-up space.
start-ups with new investment and ecosystem partners.
                                                                    It is furthermore our hope that this report will contribute to a
Since 2018, there has been increasing support and                   shared societal understanding of the importance of the Nordic
excitement for this new breed of start-up and the mark they         impact ecosystem - and why all relevant stakeholders should
could make on the UN’s 2030 agenda. Yet when we talk to             be investing in and contributing to its future.
investors and impact founders, we find that there are several
myths getting in the way of progress.                               Def inition of an impact start-up:
                                                                    We define an impact start-up as ‘a start-up company that
For this years’ report, we have decided to deep-dive into the       addresses one or more of the UN Sustainable Development
10 most common myths holding back the impact space                  Goals at the core of its business and have the potential to
in the Nordics - assessing to what extent they are valid            scale’.
or invalid - and outline what can be done to change these
perceptions. We acknowledge that it is difficult - if not           Our litmus test: If you remove the impact you also remove
imposssible - to give simple answers to the multifacetted           the business.

                                                                                                                                       Who is included in the report                                     	In 2019 we presented our second report ‘The State of
Figure 1                                                                                                                               We are building on the data gathered in both the 2018               Nordic Impact Start-ups’ which identified 647 impact
Sample size of impact start-ups in Danske Bank impact insights reports 2018, 2019 and 2020                                             and 2019 reports, leveraging our existing learnings and             start-ups across Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
                                                                                                                                       contextualising these within the wider Nordic start-up
                                                                                                                                       ecosystem.                                                        	In 2020 we are presenting our third report, which has
NUMBER OF START-UPS
                                                                                                                                                                                                           identified 1018 impact start-ups across Sweden, Norway,
                                                                                                                                       Number of start-ups at the Hub and impact start-ups                 Finland and Denmark.
                                                                                                                                       from 2018-2020
                                                                                                                                       We have analysed impact start-ups registered on either           New dimension of this year’s report
                                                                                                                                       the Hub (thehub.io), on +impact (plusimpact.io) or at Green      The previous reports have catalysed many fruitful dialogues
                 317                                      647                                           1018                           Innovation Group (greeninnovationgroup.com). To validate and     and learnings. This is why we have decided to expand the
                                                                                                                                       strengthen the data quality further, we have collaborated with   State of Nordic impact start-ups report to include a digital
                                                                                                                                       Dealroom (dealroom.co) by cross-comparing funding data.          data repository at +impact, plusimpact.io/impactreport-2020.
                                                                                                                                                                                                        While the content of this report will be available, you will also
                                                                                                                                        	In 2018 Danske Bank conducted the first Nordic analysis       be able to download the data applied in the various charts.
                                                                                                                                          of impact start-ups, which identified 317 impact start-ups
                                                                                                                                          across Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
YEARS            2018                                     2019                                          2020

8                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      9
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
10 myths about the
     Nordic impact space
     A lot has happened since 2018 when we embarked upon our journey of
     providing data driven insights on Nordic impact start-ups. Impact start-ups
     have increasingly become the talk of the town, both in the Nordic countries
     and on a global scale.

     Back then, we set out to understand         at large to accelerate, we have carefully   These insights are a snapshot of the
     what challenges the Nordic impact           identified the 10 most prevalent myths      current situation, which during the
     start-ups face. Our surveys revealed        that are preventing the space from          making of this publication developed in
     that 87% of these start-ups were            developing.                                 an unforeseen direction as the second
     challenged by the nature of the                                                         hand effects of COVID-19 froze the
     ecosystem - finding it fragmented and       1. 	The Nordic countries are global        (capital) markets affecting many start-
     lacking in awareness from stakeholders           leaders within impact start-ups.       ups.
     and the general public.
                                                 2. 	Nordic impact start-ups are            The exploration of the 10 myths
     As a result, we published the first              solving the most pressing global       should therefore be understood as an
     impact insights report which presented           challenges.                            invitation for further dialogue on how
     an overview of the ecosystem.                                                           we can leverage the Nordic impact
                                                 3. Impact start-ups are a special          start-up ecosystem’s strengths, and
     To further support the impact start-up           breed of start-up.                     how stakeholders can contribute to
     ecosystem, established the +impact                                                      its improvement through collaboration
     platform, and started an impact             4.	Impact requires a trade-off             whether that being under normal or
     accelerator.                                    between purpose and profit.             abnormal circumstances.

     We then went on to publish The State        5. Impact start-ups have
     of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2019,                 fundamentally different business
     which provided further insights into             models than ‘regular’ start-ups.
     who these start-ups are, what their
     focus is and not least, how they            6.	Impact start-up founders lack
     perform from an economic standpoint.            business experience.
     Our findings showed that impact start-
     ups follow similar financial trends         7.	There are more founders that are
     as other start-ups: their growth is             women in the impact start-up
     dependent on available risk capital;            scene.
     they focus on top-line growth but
     struggle to make a profit, with financial   8.	The majority of Nordic impact
     performance improving as they mature.           start-ups promote their SDGs.
     This year’s report stands on the
     shoulders of these previous learnings       9. Impact cannot be measured.
     on the Nordic impact start-up
     ecosystem. With an inherent desire          10.	Investors lack data on impact
     to enable Nordic impact start-ups to            start-ups.
     further mature and for the ecosystem

10                                                                                                                                 11
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
MYTH #1

The Nordic countries are global
leaders within impact start-ups
 partly false The Nordic ecosystem has great prerequisites but
the UK is the best performing impact ecosystem in Europe

In the Nordic countries, we are proud of                                                          A. The Nordic Start-up Ecosystem              1. A v ibrant start-up community                     Internationally acknowledged start-             2. Active established players
the unique qualities that characterise                                                            Based on international literature on          The entire ecosystem in the Nordics                  ups have paved the way for others,              The Nordic region has been recognised
                                              Figure 1.1
our part of the world. We have low                                                                start-up ecosystems, we have identified       has matured significantly; Stockholm                 creating more mature ecosystems                 as the most innovative region in
                                              The intersection of the Nordic start-up
levels of inequality, balanced welfare        ecosystem, the Nordic impact agenda and             six defining factors of a thriving start-up   as well as Copenhagen host                           which are filled with knowledge                 Europe with Sweden, Finland and
provision and have been acknowledged          the Nordic impact start-up ecosystem                ecosystem:                                    strong start-up communities (start-                  and expertise. (start-upguide.com)              Denmark being acknowledged as a
as the most innovative region in                                                                                                                upgenome.com, blog.dealroom).                        These conditions have fostered new              regional innovation leader and Norway
Europe (European Commission, 2017).                                                               1.	A vibrant start-up community: At          Entrepreneurs have become more                       promising tech start-ups such as KRY,           acknowledged as a strong regional
Combined with our relatively early                                                                    a grassroots level, there is a need       experienced, teams are more diverse                  Simple Feast, Kolonial.no and ICEYE.            innovator (EU Regional Innovation
adoption of the sustainable growth                               A. Nordic start-                     for a range of activities and events      and have stronger international                      However, when we look at the number             Development 2019). Corporate
                                                                 up ecosystem
agenda, the Nordic countries have                                                                     which can help the establishment          connections from the start, and there                of potential future unicorns, we still          involvement in the Nordic countries
been recognised as frontrunners in the                                                                and growth of start-ups.                  has been solid growth in the number                  see that the Nordic countries are far           has been lagging behind its European
green economy transformation.                                                                     2.	Active established players: It is         of start-ups and scale-ups (start-                   behind the UK, Germany and France               peers, but it is catching up with the
                                                                                                      crucial that established players in       upgenome.com)                                        (dealroom.com).                                 rest of Europe (blog.dealroom).
But are we as far ahead as we would              C. Nordic impact                 B. The Nordic       the field are investing in innovation
like to think? We have deep-dived into               start-up                    impact agenda        and leveraging its potential fully.                                                                                                            However, the corporate involvement in
                                                    ecosystem                                                                                                                                                                                        the Nordic countries has been lagging
the Nordic impact start-up ecosystem                                                                  Start-ups alone cannot build a
to assess the status quo. The health                                                                  thriving ecosystem.                                                                                                                            behind its European peers, but it is
of the Nordic impact ecosystem is                                                                 3.	Access to risk capital: Access to                                                                                                              catching up with the rest of Europe
inextricably linked to the overall start-up                                                           risk capital is critical in order to                                                                                                           (blog.dealroom).
                                              Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
ecosystem and the general societal                                                                    fuel the growth of these innovation
awareness of impact. So how are these                                                                 frontrunners.
three intersecting domains actually                                                               4.	Political support and ‘friendly’
                                                                                                                                                Figure 1.2
performing in the Nordics?                                                                            regulation: The business
                                                                                                                                                The most valuable tech companies of the Nordic countries and their pipeline of promising start-ups
                                                                                                      environment needs to be accessible
                                                                                                      and open, with centralised state
                                                                                                      bodies making public commitments              $25B
                                                                                                      to support these start-ups. A
                                                                                                      proactive and collaborative mindset           $10B
                                                                                                      across stakeholders is essential.
                                                                                                  5.	Access to talent: Knowledge
                                                                                                                                                     $5B
                                                                                                      intensive sectors are deeply
                                                                                                      dependent on access to a highly
                                                                                                                                                     $2B
                                                                                                      skilled and specialised labour force.
                                                                                                  6.	Brand as a hub: National and
                                                                                                                                                     $1B
                                                                                                      regional branding is essential
                                                                                                      to attract international talent,
                                                                                                                                                   $500M
                                                                                                      investors, businesses.

                                                                                                                                                   $250M
                                                                                                  Taking a closer look at the performance
                                                                                                  of the Nordic start-up ecosystem
                                                                                                  based on these six parameters, we
                                                                                                  see that:                                                                  SWEDEN                           DENMARK                            NORWAY                 FINLAND

                                                                                                                                                Source: Dealroom

12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      13
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
Figure 1.3                                                                                                                                           Figure 1.4
Number of potential future unicorns: start-ups valued over €250 million but less than €1 billion, 2020                                               Cumulative capital investment 2015-2019 in Europe
                                                                                                                                                                         United Kingdom                                                                                                                                         12000
          UK                                                                98      LONDON                                              60
                                                                                                                                                                         Germany
     GERMANY                                                      60                 PARIS                             37                                                France
                                                                                                                                                                         Sweden
      FRANCE                                                 54                      BERLIN                       27                                                     Finland                                                                                                                                                10000
                                                                                                                                                                         Denmark
 SWITZERLAND                    16                                                  MUNICH        10
                                                                                                                                                                         Norway
        SPAIN                   16                                                  DUBLIN    8
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 8000
 NETHERLANDS               13                                                    BARCELONA    8

     SWEDEN            11                                                        STOCKHOLM    6

      IRELAND          11                                                        AMSTERDAM    6                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  6000

     DENMARK
                      10                                                         CAMBRIDGE    6

       RUSSIA         10                                                            MADRID    6

                       10            20    30   40   50     60         70
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 4000
                                                                                                   10    20      30         40   50      60

Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 2000

In recent years corporates have                           3. Access to risk capital                       4. Political support and ‘friendly’
increasingly implemented open                             The capital investments in the Nordic           regulation
innovation initiatives and collaboration                  countries follow a positive trend -             The Nordic countries are known for a
with start-ups, SMEs and knowledge                        however, the Nordic countries are               stable macroeconomic environment,
institutions. Many of these players                       far behind the top three European               a widespread and strong digital                                                                       2015                            2016                           2017                   2018                       2019
have even established their own                           countries; the UK, Germany and                  infrastructure, and a high level of        Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech
accelerators.                                             France. Only Sweden managed to                  digitisation and e-readiness (World
                                                          decrease the gap in 2019.                       Economic Forum).
                                                                                                                                                     Figure 1.5
                                                          Measured by the total number of unique          Furthermore, Denmark and Norway            Top 15 hubs by number of unique funded companies 2015-2019
                                                          companies that have raised funding              are ranked among the world’s top 10                                                                                                                                                                                   3000
                                                          since 2015, we once again see the UK,           on ease of doing business in - as is the
                                                          France and Germany be the European              UK (worldbank.org). On top of that, the
                                                          top performers. Sweden comes in again           region holds state investment funds                                                                                                                                                                                   2500

                                                                                                                                                       # of unique funded companies
                                                          as the Nordic top performer at a global         providing funding and networks as
                                                          4th place, while Finland is ranked 7th,         well as cross collaborating with other
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2000
                                                          Denmark is ranked 13th and Oslo                 start-up ecosystems.
                                                          is ranked 14th (Dealroom, State of
                                                          European Tech 2019).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1500

                                                          Taking a closer look at the variety of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                1000
                                                          investors, we see that the UK has
                                                          a wider variety of investors, where
                                                          Sweden for example relies more on                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       500
                                                          domestic and European funding.

                                                                                                                                                                                      LONDON   PARIS   BERLIN   STOCKHOLM AMSTERDAM BARCELONA     DUBLIN   HELSINKI   MADRID      MOSCOW   MUNICH   MILAN   COPENHAGEN   OSLO   ZURICH

                                                                                                                                                     Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech

14                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       15
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
Figure 1.6                                                                    USA and Canada    Rest of World           Domestic   Figure 1.8                                         Figure 1.9
Mix of investors 2018-2019                                                                                                         Global Human Capital Index 2017                    Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2020 top 10
                                                                              Asia              Europe cross-border

     Switzerland                                                                                                                   Country                             Score   Rank   Country                                           Rank

         United
                                                                                                                                   Norway                              77.12     1    Switzerland                                         1
       Kingdom
                                                                                                                                   Finland                             77.07     2    United States                                       2

          Spain                                                                                                                    Switzerland                         76.48     3    Singapore                                           3

                                                                                                                                   United States                       74.84     4    Sweden                                              4
      Germany
                                                                                                                                   Denmark                             74.40     5    Denmark                                             5

        Sweden                                                                                                                     Germany                             74.30     6    Netherlands                                         6

                                                                                                                                   New Zealand                         74.14     7    Finland                                             7
  Netherlands
                                                                                                                                   Sweden                              73.95     8    Luxembourg                                          8
         France                                                                                                                    Slovenia                            73.33     9    Norway                                              9

                                      20                  40                      60                   80                   100    Austria                             73.29    10    Australia                                          10

Source: Dealroom                                                                                                                   Source: World Economic Forum                       Source: GTCI

                                                                                                                                                                                      Figure 1.10
                                                                                                                                                                                      2019 Global start-up Ecosystem Ranking
                                               5. Access to talent                        6. Brand as a hub                        Within a broader context, we see
Figure 1.7                                     The Nordic countries are known for         The growing number of internationally    that the innovation policy advisor
Ease of Doing Business Ranking 2019            having a highly educated workforce         minded tech events are contributing      and researcher firm start-up Genome                Area                                              Rank
                                               due to well-functioning and free           to branding the Nordics as a thriving    ranks Silicon Valley, New York City                Silicon Valley                                      1
Country                               Rank     educational systems. Supporting this       start-up scene: Slush, Oslo Innovation   and London as the top global start-up              New York City                                       2
New Zealand                                1   notion, the World Economic Forum           Week, Stockholm Tech Fest, TechBBQ,      ecosystems in their flagship report
                                               ranks the Nordic countries among the       Techfestival, Katapult Future Fest as    the Global start-up Ecosystem 2019.                London                                             3-4
Singapore                                  2   world top 10 in human capital based        just some examples.                      Stockholm has been ranked 11th                     Beijing                                            3-4
Hong Kong SAR, China                       3   on level of formal education, formal                                                place, while Western Denmark (due
                                                                                                                                                                                      Boston.                                             5
                                               education of the next generation,          The Nordic ecosystem is further          to a strong cluster within Advanced
Denmark                                    4                                                                                                                                          Tel Aviv                                           6-7
                                               breadth and depth of specialised           being promoted through the hashtag       Manufacturing and Robotics as well
Korea, Rep.                                5   skills as well as skill application and    #nordicmade, a community-based           as Life Sciences) and Copenhagen                   Los Angeles                                        6-7
United States                              6
                                               accumulation.                              movement for branding, marketing and     are being seen as European high-
                                                                                                                                                                                      Shanghai                                            8
                                                                                          outreach to promote both regional and    growth ecosystems and Helsinki
Georgia                                    7   Likewise, the 2020 Global Talent           international awareness of Nordic tech   being acknowledged as a Challenger                 Paris                                               9

United Kingdom                             8   Competitiveness Index ranks the            (nordicmade.org)                         ecosystem. Oslo is not mentioned                   Berlin                                             10
                                               Nordic countries among the world top                                                (Start-up Genome).                                 Stockholm                                          11
Norway                                     9
                                               10 in talent.
                                                                                                                                                                                      Seattle                                            12
Source: The World Bank
                                               However, digital skills as well the                                                                                                    Toronto-Waterloo                                   13
                                               more technically minded coders and
                                                                                                                                                                                      Singapore                                          14
                                               developers are a scarce resource
                                               within the ecosystem - and Sweden in                                                                                                   Amsterdam-Start-up Delta                           15
                                               particular lacks these competencies                                                                                                    Austin                                             16
                                               in their labour force (World Economic                                                                                                  Chicago                                            17
                                               Forum, daxx.com).
                                                                                                                                                                                      Bangalore                                          18

                                                                                                                                                                                      Washington D.C.                                    19
                                                                                                                                                                                      San Deigo                                          20

                                                                                                                                                                                      Source: Startup Genome

16                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             17
The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups 2020 - Danske Bank
In summary, the Nordic start-up ecosy-      made considerable progress in the use
                                                                                   stem holds many strengths: a mature         of renewable sources of energy over
Figure 1.11                                                                                                                                                               Figure 1.13
                                                                                   start-up scene, established players         the last two decades. On average, the
2019 Global start-up Ecosystem Ranking, Challenger Start-up Ecosystems                                                                                                    Lowest scores of SDGs among the Nordic countries
                                                                                   who are innovative and increasingly         Nordic countries generate electricity
                                                                                   active, a strong (digital) infrastructure   from renewable sources at four times
Country                                                      City         Rank                                                                                            Country/               SDG 2 Zero               SDG 12        SDG 13     SDG 14 Life
                                                                                   and friendly business environment,          the rate of other OECD countries (State    SDG                       Hunger            Sustainable       Climate   Below Water
Finland                                       Greater Helsinki                1    a highly educated labour force and a        of the Nordic Region 2020).                                                        Consumption and        Action
China                                               Hangzhou                  2
                                                                                   series of international acknowledged                                                                                                Production
                                                                                   tech events.                                Though the Nordic region’s reputation
Indonesia                                              Jakarta                3                                                                                           Denmark                      68.3                    49.8        90.2          49.9
                                                                                                                               for prioritising impact on the political
Nigeria                                                     Lagos             4    B. The Nordic Impact Agenda                 agenda is positive and well-deserved,      Sweden                       63.3                    52.2        87.2          42.3
Australia                                          Melbourne                  5    The Nordics are frequently referred         it does not mean the Nordic countries
                                                                                                                                                                          Finland                      58.2                    48.7       71.0           55.5
                                                                                   to as the global leaders on impact.         should rest on their laurels. The
Canada                                               Montreal                 6    Supporting this notion, Denmark,            Nordic countries obtain their lowest       Norway                       57.0                    30.5       54.4           66.2
Russia                                                Moscow                  7    Sweden, and Finland are among the           scores on SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG
                                                                                                                                                                          Source: sdgindex.org
                                                                                   world’s top 10 with the highest scores      12 Sustainable Consumption and
India                                                 Mumbai                  8
                                                                                   on implementing the UN’s Sustainable        Production, SDG 13 Climate Action
Brazil                                              Sao Paulo                 9    Development Goals (The Sustainable          and SDG 14 Life Below Water. These
                                                                                                                                                                          Figure 1.14
Korea                                                       Seoul            10
                                                                                   Development Report 2019).                   scores are related to the high GDP         The UN SDG Index
                                                                                                                               per capita that exists in the Nordics
Source: Startup Genome                                                             The high ranking is rooted in the           entailing high consumption patterns        Rank                                      Country           Score
                                                                                   Nordic welfare society founded on           with significant environmental and
                                                                                                                                                                          1                                        Denmark            85.20
Figure 1.12                                                                        social responsibility, collaboration and    socio-economic repercussions. The
2019 Global start-up Ecosystem Ranking, High-Growth Ecosystems                     environmental awareness. Since the          low score of SDG 2 Zero Hunger is          2                                         Sweden            85.00
                                                                                   1960’s the Nordic countries have            driven by increasing adult obesity and
                                                                                                                                                                          3                                          Finland          82.80
Phase                                 Rank                            Ecosystem    been amongst the most generous              high consumption of meat. Overall
                                                                                   donors of development aid (oecd.            the scores show that further efforts       4                                          France           81.50
                                          1                  Western Denmark
                                                                                   org); Sweden is known for being             are needed to protect biodiversity and     5                                          Austria          81.10
                                          2           Belgrade and Novi Sad        an initiator of The United Nations          support sustainable production and
                                                                                   Environment Programme in 1972;              consumption (sdgindex.org).                6                                        Germany            81.10
Activation                                3                          Taipei City
                                                                                   Norway’s Gro Harlem Brundtland                                                         7                                   Czech Republic          80.70
                                          4                    Atlantic Canada     (Prime Minister 1981, 1986–89,              In summary, the Nordic countries
                                                                                                                                                                          8                                         Norway            80.70
                                          5                             Manila     1990–96) established the Brundtland         are perceived as impact leaders - a
                                                                                   Commission, which firmly placed             notion that is supported by the high       9                                     Netherlands           80.40
                                          1                               Paris
                                                                                   sustainable development on the              rankings of the Nordic countries at the    10                                         Estonia          80.20
                                          2                           Montreal     political agenda in the 1980s.              UN SDG index. This ranking is rooted
                                                                                                                                                                          Source: sdgindex.org
                                                                                                                               in the Nordic welfare model being the
Globalization                             3                           Antwerp
                                                                                   Today, the Nordic Council of Ministers      hallmark of a well-functioning society
                                          4                             Sydney     is collaborating across the region to       within the international community.
                                          5                         Copenhagen     fulfill the vision: “The Nordic region      Yet the high consumption rates and
                                                                                   will become the most sustainable            associated environmental effects must
                                          1       Amsterdam-Start-up Delta         and integrated region in the world by       be addressed if we are to achieve our
Attraction                                2                          Bangalore     2030” closely aligned to the UN 2030        goals for the UN 2030 Agenda.
                                                                                   Agenda. Supported by the Nordic
                                          3                          Stockholm
                                                                                   Council, the Nordic countries have

*Based on growth in funding, exists & number of start-ups
Source: Startup Genome

18                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               19
C. The Nordic Impact Start-up             From a relative standpoint, Sweden
ecosystem                                 is home to nearly 10% of all venture       Figure 1.15                                                                             Figure 1.16
                                          backed impact tech companies in            Top 20 countries by share of venture backed impact tech                                 Rank of countries by %-point difference in relative share of impact driven
The inception of the UN SDGs in           Europe, but accounts for only 4.3% of      companies in Europe                                                                     European tech companies versus all European tech companies
2015 sparked a new rise in impact         all European tech companies. Similarly,
led initiatives in the Nordic start-up    Finland shows a small lead on the               % of impact tech companies in Europe                                                    %-point difference in relative share of European impact
                                                                                          % of all tech companies in Europe                                                       tech companies versus all European tech companies
communities.                              number of impact tech companies
                                          accounting for 4.7% of all European
The start-up event Slush in Helsinki      impact tech companies and 3.9% of all                                                                                  23%
                                                                                           UNITED                                                                                                                                                             4.5%
launched its Global Impact Accelerator    European tech companies. Conversely,           KINGDOM                                                                22.9%              SWEDEN

in collaboration with the Ministry Of     Denmark and Norway are lagging                                                                           17.6%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             0.8%
Foreign Affairs in Finland in 2015 and    when benchmarked being home to                   FRANCE                                                  17.7%                           FINLAND

Green Innovation Group launched the       respectively 1.3% and 1.1% of impact                                              10%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               0.4%
Green Tech Challenge. The non-profit      tech companies vs. 2.4% and 1.4% of            GERMANY                                       14.2%                                       AUSTRIA

organisation Norrsken launched its        tech companies.                                                                  9.6%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             0.1%
coworking space and VC fund targeting                                                NETHERLANDS                           9.6%

impact tech in 2016. Katapult Future      In absolute terms, London is the                                                 9.4%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             0%
Fest was launched in Oslo in 2017.        capital of impact driven start-ups              SWEDEN                   4.9%                                                       NETHERLANDS

The non-profit organisation The One       within Europe; it is home to nearly                                  4.7%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             0%
initiative connecting impact start-ups    1 in 10 companies with an impact-               FINLAND            3.9%                                                                 HUNGARY

and investors was founded in 2018         driven mission. But on a relative basis,                             4.5%
                                                                                            SPAIN                                                                                   FRANCE                                        -0.1%
alongside +impact aiming to support       Stockholm is the number one city                                                 9.6%

the Nordic impact start-ups and NIIN      with the heaviest weighting towards                               3.8%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  -0.1%
                                                                                          IRELAND                                                                                  BELGIUM
(Nordic Impact Investing Network) with    impact tech companies compared to                                         5.3%

the goal of “making impact investing      its European counterparts. It should                              3.6%
                                                                                             ITALY                                                                                 NORWAY                                        -0.3%
mainstream” (start-upguide.com).          be noted that the data sourced by                                    4.6%

But how is the Nordic impact start-up     Dealroom in this analysis are based                           3.2%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               -0.6%
                                                                                     SWITZERLAND                                                                              SWITZERLAND
ecosystem actually performing?            on venture backed companies. As                                    3.8%

                                          London holds huge amounts of capital,                             1.7%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     -0.9%
                                                                                          BELGIUM                                                                                 PORTUGAL
As this evaluation of the Nordic - as     the city will have an advantage in this                           1.8%

well as the European and global -         comparative analysis. The analysis does                       1.3%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  -1%
                                                                                         DENMARK                                                                                      ITALY
impact start-up ecosystem is fairly new   not provide input on the numbers of                                2.4%

territory, we stay humble to our few      early start-ups emerging.                                     1.7%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 -1.1%
                                                                                          NORWAY                                                                                  DENMARK
supportive data sources. To benchmark                                                                   1.8%

the Nordic impact start-up ecosystem                                                                   1.1%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                -1.2%
                                                                                          AUSTRIA                                                                                    RUSSIA
against an European context we have                                                                   0.7%

studied the data provided by Dealroom                                                                 0.8%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                -1.2%
                                                                                           POLAND              2.8%                                                                 ESTONIA
for The State of European Tech 2019.
According to the study, the UK, France                                                                0.6%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               -1.5%
                                                                                         PORTUGAL       1.5%                                                                        IRELAND
and Germany are home to the highest
number of venture backed European                                                                     0.6%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             -1.7%
                                                                                           RUSSIA                                                                                 LITHUANIA
                                                                                                            1.8%
impact tech companies.
                                                                                                      0.6%
                                                                                          ESTONIA                                                                                   POLAND                               -2%
                                                                                                            1.8%

                                                                                                     0.4%
                                                                                         HUNGARY                                                                                  GERMANY                 -4.2%
                                                                                                     0.4%

                                                                                                     0.2%
                                                                                         LITHUANIA                                                                                    SPAIN       -5.1%
                                                                                                            1.9%

                                                                                                                      5        10             15           20           25                 -6    -5       -4      -3    -2      -1      0      1      2   3    4          5
                                                                                                                           % OF ALL COMPANIES                                                                                  %-POINT DIFFERENCE

                                                                                     Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech                                                Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech

20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   21
13.4%

                                4.3%
STOCKHOLM
                1.9%

                                    4.3%
    PARIS
                                                        7.3%

                             3.4%
AMSTERDAM
                         3.3%

                       2.8%
    BERLIN
                                               6.2%

               1.7%
  HELSINKI
                1.9%

              1.5%
   DUBLIN
                       2.8%

             1.3%
   ZURICH
             1.1%

             1.3%
    ESPOO
              0.4%

    DELFT
             1.3%                                                                                                                          To sum up, looking at how the Nordic       Conclusion
              0.4%
         Figure 1.17                                                                                                                       impact ecosystem performs in terms         To assess the performance of the           Conversely, the Nordic countries
                                                                                                                                           of their share of European impact tech     Nordic impact start-up ecosystem, we       receive a high ranking on the           Figure 1.18
         Top 10 European
                    3    cities by6 share of impact
                                               9    driven 12                                 15
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         The intersection of the Nordic start-up
         European tech companies                                                                                                           companies, it is clear that London         have taken a look at the intersection      SDG Index compared to their             ecosystem, the Nordic impact agenda and
                                                                                                                                           outperforms in terms of absolute           of the Nordic start-up ecosystem, the      European peers. However, the high       the Nordic impact start-up ecosystem
               % of purpose-driven tech companies in Europe
                                                                                                                                           numbers. However, Stockholm stands         Nordic impact agenda and the Nordic        consumption patterns and associated
               % of all European tech companies
                                                                                                                                           out with a significant portion of impact   impact start-up ecosystem.                 environmental spillover effects need
                                                                                                                                           tech companies. Paris houses an                                                       to be addressed if we want to achieve
                LONDON
                                                                             9.4%                                                          equal share of impact tech companies,      The Nordic region holds many               our goals for the UN 2030 Agenda.                          A. Nordic start-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            up ecosystem
                                                                                                 13.4%
                                                                                                                                           but a higher share of tech companies.      prerequisites of a thriving start-up
             STOCKHOLM
                                                       4.3%                                                                                As the total numbers imply, there          ecosystem - but also some                  When zooming in on the Nordic
                                     1.9%                                                                                                  is still work to be done before the        weaknesses that are holding the            impact start-up ecosystem, the
                                                       4.3%                                                                                Nordics as a region can take pride in      ecosystem back. However, once              data from The State of European
                     PARIS
                                                                      7.3%                                                                 being an epicentre of European impact      again Stockholm stands out - this          Tech 2019 indicates that London             C. Nordic impact                B. The Nordic
                                               3.4%
                                                                                                                                           tech companies.                            time with the relatively biggest lead of   not only holds the highest share of             start-up                   impact agenda
             AMSTERDAM
                                                                                                                                                                                      impact start-ups in their ecosystem.       tech companies in Europe but also              ecosystem
                                              3.3%
                                                                                                                                                                                      In addition, Western Denmark and           the highest share of impact tech
                                            2.8%
                    BERLIN
                                                               6.2%
                                                                                                                                                                                      Copenhagen are perceived as high-          companies. However, once again
                                                                                                                                                                                      growth start-up ecosystems and             Stockholm stands out - this time with
                                    1.7%                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
                HELSINKI                                                                                                                                                              Helsinki as a challenger start-up          the relatively biggest overweight of
                                     1.9%
                                                                                                                                                                                      ecosystem.                                 impact start-ups in their ecosystem.
                                1.5%
                    DUBLIN
                                            2.8%

                               1.3%
                    ZURICH
                              1.1%

                               1.3%
                    ESPOO
                                0.4%

                               1.3%
                     DELFT
                                0.4%

                                                   3             6             9            12           15

         Source: Dealroom, State of European Tech

                                    % of purpose-driven tech companies in Europe
                                    % of all European tech companies

                                                                                      Perspective: On the Nordic ecosystem
                                                                                      Rolf Kjærgaard, CEO, Vækstfonden

                                                                                      "We see a clear and positive development in the Nordics, where both
                                                                                      entrepreneurs and investors have a strengthened focus on themes
                                                                                      such as sustainability, green transition and social accountability. It is
                                                                                      our belief that purpose and profit go hand in hand, and the strongest
                                                                                      and most successful companies are the ones that integrate impact
                                                                                      into their core business. The Nordics are at the forefront within
                                                                                      sustainability, and with the ongoing crisis caused by the Covid-19
                                                                                      pandemic it has become even more important that we keep the
                                                                                      momentum and drive that positive development forward.”

         22                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  23
MYTH #2

Nordic impact start-ups are solving
the most pressing global challenges
 partly false The majority of the Nordic impact start-ups are focusing on
solving local problems in high-income markets, fewer focus on solutions
which will move the needle on the underlying SDG indicators

Since the 2030 Agenda for                Looking at Nordic impact start-ups        We reflect on whether the empirical
Sustainable Development and the 17       through the overall lens of the SDGs,     distribution of the Nordic impact start-      Figure 2.1
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)     our study shows that the biggest          ups addressing the SDGs represents            Distribution of the Nordic impact start-ups’ SDG focus area: % distribution of 1018 companies
were adopted by all United Nations       share of the start-ups are centered       the normative distribution. Is it possible
Member States in 2015, the term          around SDG 3 Good Health and Well-        to prioritise the clusters according to the                                                                                                                                        25
‘impact’ has developed from a niche to   being (21%), SDG 12 Responsible           greatest needs and target our supportive
a norm.                                  Consumption and Production (21%)          efforts within this field?
                                         and SDG 7 Access to Clean and
In parallel, the Nordic start-up         Affordable Energy (11%) as wells          According to the UN, the solutions                                    21%                                                                      21%

ecosystem has seen an increasing         as SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and          should work in parallel: “(...) ending                                                                                                                                             20
amount of budding impact start-          Communities (10%), which together         poverty and other deprivations must
ups aspiring to do good while doing      accounts for 63% of the start-ups. This   go hand-in-hand with strategies that
business. But what does impact           distribution is almost identical to our   improve health and education, reduce
actually mean for Nordic impact          findings last year (The state of Nordic   inequality, and spur economic growth
start-ups?                               Impact Start-ups 2019; Insight report:    – all while tackling climate change and                                                                                                                                            15
                                         Impact start-ups 2018).                   working to preserve our oceans and
In order to understand what kind of                                                forests” (un.org/sdgs).
challenges the Nordic impact start-ups   On a geographical level, the top four
are addressing, we have examined their   categories are the same for all four      In the following sections, we take a                                                                 11%
core business through the lens of the    countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway        closer look at the value creation of                                                                                                     10%                                       10
UN’s 17 Sustainable Development          and Finland.                              the solutions in these three clusters,
Goals (SDGs).                                                                      People, Prosperity and Planet to assess                                                                                8%
                                         On a cluster level, we see that 37%       the alignment between the SDGs and
                                         of the start-ups relate to the cluster    actual impact.
                                         Prosperity (SDG 7-11); 32% of the                                                                                                                                                                                             5
                                         start-ups relate to People (SDG 1-6)                                                                 4%                     4%                          4%                4%
                                         mainly driven by SDG 3; 27% of the                                                                                                                                                                   3%
                                         start-ups relate to the cluster Planet                                                                                             1%   2%                                                                2%   2%       2%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        1%
                                         (SDG 12-15) and 4% of the start-ups                                                        0%
                                         relates to Other (SDG 16-17).

                                                                                                                                                             PEOPLE                                   PROSPERITY                         PLANET              OTHER

                                                                                                                                 Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups

24                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    25
4%

                                                        27%
                                                                   More start-ups are            37%
                                                                   working with SDGs
                                                                       related to
                                                                   prosperity & planet
People                                                                than people
Around 32% of the Nordic impact             Figure 2.2                                                                                                      KubeEnergy - a Norwegian start-up bringing energy to rural African communities
                                            Distribution of Nordic impact start-ups related to                                4%
start-ups are addressing SDG 1-6 in
                                            the SDG categories Prosperity, Planet and People
the cluster People. We have analysed        % distribution of 1018 companies
                                                                                                                                                            Kube Energy supplies electricity from off-grid energy solutions   Kube Energy promotes access to low carbon energy and
                                                                        32%
their solutions to explore the alignment                                                                                                                    so communities, government agencies, businesses and               supports climate resilient development and growth in hard-to-
between the SDGs and the solutions of                                                                        27%                                            organizations can access clean energy, reduce energy costs,       reach and fragile areas across West, Central and East Africa.
                                                No. of start-ups working                                                More start-ups are        37%
the Nordic impact start-ups:                    with prosperity goals                                                                                       streamline operations and lower carbon emissions.                 Their solutions are being implemented across rural communities
                                                                                                                        working with SDGs
                                                No. of start-ups working                                                    related to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              in countries like Mali, Uganda, South Sudan and Somalia.
Looking at the solutions offered by             with people goals
                                                No. of start-ups working
                                                                                                                        prosperity & planet
the Nordic impact start-ups under the                                                                                      than people
                                                with planet goals
cluster of People, we see that SDG              No. of start-ups working with
3 Health and Wellbeing represents               other goals (SDG 16 and 17)
the biggest share of start-ups. The
challenge with this goal is that it                                                                                            32%
has become synonymous with an
                                            Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
industry vertical. We must let go of                                                       No. of start-ups working
                                                                                           with prosperity goals
the reductive thinking that an industry
                                                                                           No. of start-ups working
vertical equals impact. A start-up in the   Figure 2.3                                     with people goals
health sector providing supplements         Description and keyword breakdown of People SDGNo.
                                                                                             cluster
                                                                                               of start-ups working
or medtech wearables for people with                                                       with planet goals
high quality of life, is not necessarily                                                   No. of start-ups working with
                                            SDG                                             Description                                       Key words
                                                                                           other goals (SDG 16 and 17)
aligned with the intent of the SDGs.
                                            SDG 1 No Poverty                             End poverty in all its forms         Digital charity platforms;
                                                                                                        everywhere         Insurtech and fintech in low-
While these solutions create great                                                                                                    income countries
value and impact for their customers,
the intent of the SDG is to increase        SDG 2 Zero Hunger                              End hunger, achieve food          Reduced food waste; Plant
                                                                                             security and improved             rich diet; Local produce;
life expectancy, reduce maternal and                                                         nutrition, and promote             Organic produce; Solar
child mortality as well as fight against                                                    sustainable agriculture          protein; Meat alternatives
leading communicable diseases (un.
org/sdg3). Similarly, while expensive       SDG 3 Health and Wellbeing                     Ensure healthy lives and       Vitamin supplements; Elderly-
                                                                                        promote well-being for all at          care; Wearables; Weight
educational apps for children in high-
                                                                                                            all ages       trackers; Diagnostics, Digital
income countries serves a good                                                                                                           care; MedTech
purpose, it serves less the intent of
the SDG which is characterized by           SDG 4 Quality Education                            Ensure inclusive and                Educational gaming;
improving learning outcomes for the                                                      equitable quality education         Coding toys; Virtual Reality
full life cycle, especially for women,                                                 and promote lifelong learning                         storytelling
girls and marginalized people in                                                                opportunities for all
vulnerable settings (un.org/sdg4). It is
                                            SDG 5 Gender Equality                       Achieve gender equality and          AI measuring bias; Digital
important to note that many start-ups                                                  empower all women and girls         headhunting; Female Health;
categorised in this cluster are aligned                                                                                                  Female Urinal
with the intent of the SDGs - but they
are underrepresented.                       SDG 6 Clean Water and                            Ensure availability and               Water saving; Water
                                            Sanitation                                  sustainable management of         circulation; Water treatment;
                                                                                         water and sanitation for all           Drinking water from air

                                            Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups

26                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        27
Prosperity
Around 37% of the start-ups in            stations to embed the infrastructure.                                                                          Perspective: On the global challenges
                                                                                                                                                         Thorben Sander, Founder and Chairman of the Board, TechVelopment /
the sample, fall into the cluster of      These measures - if scaled - have
                                                                                                                                                         Danish Impact Business Network
Prosperity (SDG 7-11). We have            the potential to decarbonize private
analysed their solutions to explore the   transportation.                                                                                                "There exists a great opportunity for Nordic innovative companies to assert themselves in
alignment between the SDGs and what                                                                                                                      emerging countries on the long run - both from a financial and an impact perspective. The
the start-ups are offering.               Yet in a similar way to the People                                                                             presence of the Nordic companies in the developing countries is relatively small compared to
                                          cluster, we also see many solutions                                                                            the potentiality. The knowledge, competencies and capital of the Nordic countries is exactly
We acknowledge that the                   targeted at improving high quality                                                                             what is in demand in the developing countries: renewable energy, health and infrastructure as
categorisation of the solutions listed    lifestyles; e.g. employee satisfaction                                                                         well as the collaboration between private, public and civic entities.
for SDG 7 Access to Clean and             measurements, leadership
Affordable Energy is ambiguous.           development.                                                                                                   The Nordic countries are well positioned to support the rapidly growing demand for innovative
While the cluster Prosperity is                                                                                                                          solutions that will improve lives in developing countries. Our tradition of long-term commitment
characterized by improving the quality                                                                                                                   in international development corporations and influential institutions with presence in the
of life, the renewable energy solutions                                                                                                                  emerging countries, has enabled us to build strong relations, gain cultural know-how and
also address the characteristics of the                                                                                                                  credibility. Additionally, there is a great latent investment appetite for SDG/impact investments
cluster Planet by contributing to the                                                                                                                    in emerging countries, but the investors do not have knowledge or safe structures to invest
decarbonisation of the energy sector.     Figure 2.4                                                                                                     from. The challenge is that the Nordic countries have not organized partnerships and structures
Following the indicators of SDG 7,        Description and keyword breakdown of Prosperity SDG cluster                                                    that can help start-ups and SMEs truly succeed in the emerging countries.
we have listed these solutions here
as they contribute to increasing the      SDG                                                         Description                         Key words
                                                                                                                                                         This is why we have initiated the TechVelopment Hub in Denmark. In the spirit of Sustainable
global electrification rate as well as                                                                                                                   Development Goal 17, the TechVelopment Hub Denmark will be an organisation and physical
the renewable energy consumption          SDG 7 Access to Clean and                  Ensure access to affordable,        Renewable energy; Rooftop       hub based in Copenhagen aiming to mobilize the significant development capacity across all
                                          Affordable Energy                             reliable, sustainable and       solar; Biomass; Hydropower;
(un. org/sdg7).                                                                            modern energy for all         Wind turbines; Geothermal       relevant Danish actors to support the rapidly growing demand for scalable innovative solutions
                                                                                                                                                         in developing countries and grow the number of successful TechVelopment entrepreneurs."
Looking at the solutions offered by       SDG 8 Decent Work and                       Promote sustained, inclusive          Employees satisfaction;
                                          Economic Growth                               and sustainable economic       Connecting platforms; Impact
the Nordic impact start-ups under the                                                   growth, full and productive        leadership development;
cluster Prosperity we find that SDG                                                  employment and decent work                     Employer rating
                                                                                                             for all
7 Access to Clean and Affordable                                                                                                                         The Protein Directory - a Danish start-up dedicated to helping start-ups
Energy and SDG 11 Sustainable             SDG 9 Industry, Innovation                 Build resilient infrastructure,     Electric Vehicles; Electrical   working with alternative proteins also known as meat substitutes.
Cities and Communities represent          and Infrastructure                                promote inclusive and         Bicycles; Electrical Boats,
the biggest group within this cluster.                                               sustainable industrialization      Charging Stations; Robotics      The Protein Directory helps founders
                                                                                             and foster innovation
As these two areas are strongholds                                                                                                                       by telling their success stories and
in the Nordic region and are among                                                                                                                       by connecting them with investors,
                                          SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities                Reduce inequality within and            Blockchain for identity
some of flagships of the Nordic                                                                 among countries              certificates; Immigrant     experts and leading corporations. The
Council of Ministers vision, it is not                                                                                                    integration    community started in October 2019
surprising that start-ups within these                                                                                                                   and since became the largest publicly
SDGs are leading the way. We also         SDG 11 Sustainable Cities                        Make cities and human             Air quality monitoring;     available database of alternative protein
                                          and Communities                              settlements inclusive, safe,        Waste management; IoT
see a significant share of start-ups                                                     resilient and sustainable        and sensors; Retrofitting;
                                                                                                                                                         start-ups covering 300+ companies
developing electric bikes, electric                                                                                     Automated buildings; Safety      from all over the globe.
vehicles, electric boats, and charging
                                          Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups

28                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       29
Planet                                                                                                                                                   Among start-ups working under                        Project Drawdown                                              On an overall level 23% of the Nordic
Around 27% of the start-ups in the         Figure 2.5                                                                                                    SDG 13, we see a range of climate                    and Planet solutions                                          impact start-ups address solutions
sample are in the cluster Planet (SDG      Description and keyword breakdown of Planet SDG cluster                                                       related educational apps and games                   To further our perspective on the                             mentioned in the Project Drawdown’s
12-15). We have analysed their                                                                                                                           as well as digital platforms helping                 scale and intensity of impact amongst                         Scenario 1 targeting to stop climate
solutions to explore the alignment                                                                                                                       corporates and communities identify                  the Nordic impact start-ups with the                          change close to 2˚C of global warming
                                           SDG                                                         Description                        Key words
between between each start-up’s                                                                                                                          environmental measures.                              cluster of Planet, we have further                            (Scenario 2 target to stop climate
impact and the SDGs:                       SDG 12 Responsible                                 Ensure sustainable              Alternative consumer                                                            evaluated the start-ups focus through                         change close to 1.5˚C).
                                           Consumption and Produc-                     consumption and production           products; Second-hand;       While these solutions are important                  the lens of Project Drawdown.
                                           tion                                                          patterns        Sharing Economy; Fashion;
Looking at the solutions offered by                                                                                     Food; Production equipment       in tackling current challenges and                   Project Drawdown is a research
the Nordic impact start-ups under                                                                                                                        contributing towards the green                       based framework which ranks the
the cluster Planet we see that the         SDG 13 Climate Action                              Take urgent action to             Educational games;       transition within the Nordics (which                 most substantive solutions needed
                                                                                            combat climate change           educational apps; Flood
biggest group of start-ups addresses                                                               and its impacts          Barriers; Carbon off-set     also have very high environmental                    to reverse global warming. There
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption                                                                                                                           footprints), there is an asymmetry in                are many solutions for reducing and
& Production. According to the             SDG 14 Life Below Water                    Conserve and sustainably use           Wastewater treatment;       the distribution of SDG focus in the                 stopping the amount of greenhouse
Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation, the                                                   the oceans, seas and marine           Cleaning the oceans for     cluster Planet: On an overall level,                 gases (GHG) emitted into the
                                                                                          resources for sustainable     plastics; Bioplastics; Algaes;
Nordic countries score low on this                                                                    development                    AI for fish farms   there are few start-ups addressing                   atmosphere, including decarbonizing
particular SDG, so the start-ups here                                                                                                                    goals such as SDG 14 Life Below                      the energy, food and agriculture,
fulfill an important role in challenging   SDG 15 Life on Land                        Protect, restore and promote             Apps for agroforestry;    Water, SDG 15 Life on Land and SDG                   transport, construction, and
the conventional companies and their                                                  sustainable use of terrestrial      Soil mapping and fertilizer    6 Clean Water and Sanitation.                        manufacturing sectors.
current practices. With a focus on                                                         ecosystems, sustainably      optimisation; Grain analyzer;
                                                                                           manage forests, combat             Agriculture simulation
sustainable and local supply chains,
                                                                                       desertification, and halt and      software; Mobile game on
zero waste, and circular production                                                   reverse land degradation and                            nature
many start-ups are aspiring to close                                                           halt biodiversity loss
the current gap.
                                                                                                                                                         Figure 2.6                                           Figure 2.7
                                           Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
                                                                                                                                                         Distribution of start-ups within top 80              Distribution of Nordic impact start-ups addressing the top 10 solutions according to Project Drawdown 2020
                                                                                                                                                         solutions ranking in Project Drawdown                Scenario 1 stopping climate change close to 2˚C of global warming. % distribution of 1018 companies
                                                                                                                                                         % distribution of 1018 companies

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Ranking                Project Drawdown Solutions                 % of Nordic     Scenario 1 - Gigaton
                                                                                                                                                         Project                          % distribution of                                                                 impact start-ups         CO2 Equivalent
                                                                                                                                                         Drawdown                           Nordic impact                                                                                      reduced, 2020-2050
                                                                                                                                                         Ranking                                 start-ups
                                                                                                                                                                                                              1                                 Reduced Food Waste                     2.6%                   87.45
                                                                                                                                                         Top 1-10                                    8.9%
                                                                                                                                                                                                              2                                 Health and Education                   0.9%                   85.42
C-green - a Swedish start-up                                                                                                                             Top 11-20                                   1.1%
converting industrial biomass to                                                                                                                                                                              3                                          Plant-Rich Diets              2.2%                   65.01
biofuel energy                                                                                                                                           Top 21-50                                   7.1%
                                                                                                                                                                                                              4                            Refrigerant Management                      0.3%                   57.75
                                                                                                                                                         Top 51-80                                   6.0%
C-green have developed a new way                                                                                                                                                                              5                          Tropical Forest Restoration                   0.0%                   54.45
to convert wastewater sludge, indu-                                                                                                                      Total sum                                  23.1 %
strial sludge and wet biomass into                                                                                                                                                                            6                Wind Turbines (Onshore/Off-shore)                       0.2%           47.21+10.44
                                                                                                                                                         Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
fuel. Through advanced processing
                                                                                                                                                                                                              7                             Alternative Refrigerants                   0.3%                   43.53
of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC),
they are setting an environmental                                                                                                                                                                             8                    Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics                   0.7%                   42.32
benchmark for industrial sludge
                                                                                                                                                                                                              9                         Improved Clean Cookstoves                      0.1%                   31.34
disposal.
                                                                                                                                                                                                              10                    Distributed Solar Photovoltaics                    1.6%                   27.98

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Total 10                                              Total              8.9%

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups

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Markets

                                             4%

                                                        19%

                              Over 90% of Nordic
                              Impact markets are
                               focussed on high-
                                income markets

                                                              The distribution can be categorised in      Target market                                Conclusion                                While the focus of these SDGs                       While the study has shown that there
          Figure 2.8                                          four sub-categories:                        When we further identify the                 With an intention to assess the type      contribute to solving relevant                      are some very promising solutions
                               77%
          Distribution of target markets amongst Nordic
                                                              Around 9% of the Nordic impact start-       distribution of target markets amongst       of challenges the Nordic impact start-    challenges in the local high-income                 and technologies amongst the
          impact start-ups. Sample size: 990
                                                              ups work with the top 10 solutions          Nordic Impact start-ups’, we see that        ups are solving, we took a look at the    market and off-setting the significant              Nordic impact start-ups with a great
               Low-income Markets                             that Project Drawdown have defined          only around 23% of the Nordic impact         Nordic impact start-ups through the       environmental footprints in our region,             potential to scale, more collaborative
               Multiple                                       as the most efficient in reversing global   start-up target multiple or low-income       lens of the Sustainable Development       the focus on solving the most pressing              efforts across stakeholders need to
Markets
               High-income Markets
                                                              warming. These solutions include            markets, while 77% target high-income        Goals. We found that the majority         challenges in low-income countries                  be initiated if we want to mitigate
                                                              Reduced Food Waste and Plant Rich           markets. This supports our finding that      of start-ups focus on SDG 3 Good          is underrepresented. Considering the                and reverse the effects of climate
                                     4%
                                                              Diets as well as Rooftop Solar. Only        the Nordic impact start-ups primarily        Health and Wellbeing (21%), SDG           operational structures of the funding               changes in accordance with the Paris
                                                              1% of the start-ups work with the top       contribute to solve the challenges of        12 Responsible Consumption and            market, the overrepresentation of                   Agreements and UN 2030 Agenda.
                                                  19%         11-20 solutions; around 7% work with        their local and regional high-income         Production (21%) and SDG 7 Access         Nordic start-ups’ focus on local                    Examples could be more public and
                                                              top 21-50 and around 6% work with           markets. Though data transparency on         to Clean and Affordable Energy (11%)      markets and relatively easily                       private partnerships, more visible
                                                              the top 51-80. Please see appendix          target market(s) is lacking in the case      as wells as SDG 11 Sustainable            marketable solutions is to be expected.             political support and supportive
                       Over 90% of Nordic
                                                              for the full table of solutions and         of some start-ups, the distribution is       Cities and Communities (10%), which       We need these structures to include                 measures for impact entrepreneurs.
                       Impact markets are
                        focussed on high-                     distribution of Nordic impact start-ups.    still significantly weighted towards high-   together accounts for 63% of the          more room for start-ups focusing on
                         income markets                                                                   income countries. The distribution may       start-ups.                                complex solutions in broader markets
                                                                                                          not be that surprising given that many                                                 - currently this type of Nordic impact
                                                                                                          early-stage investors and founders           We reflected upon how this                start-up most often emerges as R&D
                        77%
                                                                                                          find it more feasible to begin by solving    distribution could reflect a potential    spinouts affiliated to universities.
                                                                                                          the pains of their local market whilst       norm. While we have not found a
                                                                                                          being close to their customers. (Impact      blueprint for the optimal distribution    The same picture appears when
     Low-income Markets                                                                                   Report: Nordic Investors 2019). As           of start-ups addressing the SDGs, we      applying the lens of the Project
       Source: State of Nordic Impact Start-ups
     Multiple                                                                                             later-stage investors tend to have more      have deep dived in order to analyse the   Drawdown framework. Around 23%
     High-income Markets                                                                                  global focus, we expect that some of         alignment of the offered solutions and    of the Nordic impact start-ups
                                                                                                          the Nordic impact start-ups will scale to    the intent of the SDGs.                   address solutions mentioned
                                                                                                          other markets when at growth-stage.                                                    in Project Drawdown that can
                                                                                                                                                                                                 contribute significantly to reversing
                                                                                                                                                                                                 global warming.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Perspective: On the global challenges
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Ruth Brännvall, Co-founder and CEO, Impact Invest

                                                                                                                                                                                                 ”Very few Nordic start-ups today focus on challenges in the least
                                                                                                                                                                                                 developed countries. My feeling is that we saw more entrepreneurs
                                                                                                                                                                                                 targeting Africa and South-East Asia ten years ago.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 At the same time, these regions have seen a massive rise in
                                                                                                                                                                                                 entrepreneurial activities and improved infrastructure. There is a higher
                                                                                                                                                                                                 chance to succeed today in partnering, in tech development and in
                                                                                                                                                                                                 reaching a very large population. I would really encourage impact-driven
                                                                                                                                                                                                 companies here to think of the global south from the start.

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