Crowberry is an Icelandic venture fund focused on early stage startups in the Nordic region.

Female-founded, Icelandic venture fund Crowberry Capital announced its raise of a €76 million (US$ 90 million) seed and early-stage fund for investing in startups located in the Nordic region. The fund, Crowberry II, has the distinction of being the largest VC raise ever for Iceland. (Silicon Republic)

Crowberry Capital prefers investing in the emerging tech sector and in the process seeks to promote inclusivity. However, it’s not as if it invests exclusively in women-led startups.

“As our investment record shows, we support companies because they are game changers, irrespective of the gender of their senior team members,” said Hekla Arnardottir, a founding partner. “However, we also benefit, as an all-female team, from a circumspection which means that we can see potential in businesses and sectors which are typically overlooked by others in our space.”

Crowberry II

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the lead LP of the fund, investing €20 million. Icelandic Pension funds, several family offices and angels, including David Helgason, founder of Unity Technologies, also took part.

The EIF provides financial backing to Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

The EIF and gender diversity

“In recent years, the level of venture capital funding in Iceland has steadily grown and Crowberry has emerged as a very credible venture capital manager,” said Alain Godard, the chief executive of the EIF. “The team is well positioned to leverage the clear gender gap identified in venture capital funding which, in itself, represents a strong market opportunity.”

“We value and support diversity, and this investment represents an example of how women can break down barriers and create opportunities for venturing into investments and entrepreneurship roles,” added Godard.

The Crowberry I fund invested $40 million in 2017 in startups in the areas of gaming, SaaS, health tech and fintech.

The founders plan a second, $40 million close of Crowberry II in July 2022.

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Image Credit: Crowberry Capital