Unconventional Ventures Closes $32M Fund For Diverse European Startups
Copenhagen-based Unconventional Ventures has announced the second close of its €30 million fund ($32 million), dedicated to investing in diverse founding teams and founders.
Unconventional Ventures
According to Tech Funding News, Unconventional Ventures (UV) is the only European fund with a diversity impact at its heart.
It is an impact-focused investment firm investing in early-stage startups led by underrepresented founders in Europe.
Launched by Thea Messel and Nora Barvey in 2018, UV has a VC structure and invests across the Nordics in healthcare, women’s health, diversity tech, sustainable fashion, food tech and fintech.
Barvey told Tech Funding News she went from Iran to Sweden in 1980 as a refugee before planning a move to America with her dad in 1986.
The move didn’t work out, and they stayed in Sweden, where, at 26, Harvey started working for a startup at the Stockholm School of Business.
After working in a digital marketing job that took her into the tech sector, she realised how unrepresentative tech was.
In response, Bavey began thinking about angel investing and started working on her startup until she met Messel; the rest is history.
UV has now passed the halfway close of its target €30 million ($32 million) fund to invest solely in tech companies with diverse founding teams and founders.
Since its first close, the business has invested in nine impact tech companies, and the second close will further field its mission.
UV’s Portfolio And Plans
The LPs backing the fund include Atomico, EIFO, Investinor, and Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker.
They also welcomed The Case For Her, a specialist in women’s health investments, as a new LP.
“With this fund, we now have the financial power to support further the remarkable founders we’ve encountered. They are the visionaries behind companies dedicated to forging a brighter future for all of us,” said Messel.
UV’s portfolio includes SciFree, a group working with libraries worldwide to help make 100% Open Access and Open Science sustainable and equitable, founded by Abeni Wickham.
“We’re thrilled to showcase our impressive roster of investors, ranging from respected institutional players to globally renowned VC firms and esteemed family offices,” said Barvey.
“Their trust in us empowers our mission to champion the trailblazers of the impact technology sector.”
