Click To Change

What if, we use drones to deliver medicines to far off places?

What if, we build airplane engines that run on hydrogen and electricity?

What If, We Could Farm Enough Insects To Feed The Entire World?

What if, we make oil from sugar instead of from vegetables?

What If, We Could Make Sushi Without Killing Fish?

What if, we enlist AI to help restaurants reduce food waste?

What if, we use digital therapeutics to help women through menopause?

What if, we build a cutting-edge digital health platform for the largest country in Africa?

What if, we build a digital marketplace for developing countries to manage, share and request blood?

What If, Cows Stopped Farting And We Could Save The Ozone Layer?

What if, we could capture CO2 from the air with electricity?

What If, We Make Second Hand Clothing The First Hand Choice?

What if, we use satellites to plan out electricity grids in the world's poorest areas?

What if, we could save energy by separating chemicals with membranes rather than heat?

What if, we could grow all our meat in a lab?

What if, we could give everyone the same shot at higher education?

What if, we build a device that lets patients perform common medical checks at home?

What if, we could make the chemicals we need from carbon in the air instead of carbon in the ground?

What If, We Could Create Real Milk Without Animals??

What if, we could transition all taxi drivers in emerging countries to electric vehicles?

What if, we could save energy by dunking datacenters in blue ooze?

What if, we create recyclable, degradable packaging that looks and feels like plastic?

What if, we give everyone fast, reliable internet access via satellites?

What if, we convince microbes to help us grow better plants?

What if, we make the chemicals we need from sugar, not petroleum?

What if, drugs can be checked for safety via the cloud?

What if, we leverage community buying power to give everyone access to solar?

What if, we could slow down climate change by putting seaweed on the ocean floor.

What if, we could recycle old electric cars into new electric cars?

What if, we build an app to ensure food is shared, not wasted?

What If, We Could Make Chocolate Without Cocoa?

What if, we could get limitless, clean and free energy by digging really, really deep holes?

What if, we test cancer treatments on tumors grown on computer chips?

What if, we could harness green energy to make all the batteries the world could ever need?

What if, poor communities could buy better food together, at lower cost?

What if, we make cream cheese and burgers from mushrooms?

What if, we used AI to make drivers drive more safely?

What If, We Could Convince Mosquitoes To Stop Spreading Diseases?

What if, we replace leather and plastics with plant-based alternatives?

What if, we use silk proteins to stop food from going bad?

What If, We Give Every City On Earth A Path To Net Zero?

What if, we grow animal fat in labs to make better-tasting meat substitutes?

What if, we teach coding to combat poverty?

What if, we could clean the water in fish farms by growing food in them?

What if, we could make fashion transparent and accountable?

What if, we do mammography over the internet for women in poor communities?

What if, we could clean the air by making trees grow faster?

What if, we make clothes that reverse climate change?

What if, we give the world's poor access to modern digital banking?

What if, we apply AI to blood samples to detect almost every human pathogen.

What if, AI could help patients self-manage their chronic health conditions?

What if, we give every individual on earth a path to net zero?

What if, we replace portable diesel generators with portable batteries?

What if, we could trap greenhouse gases in rock and store them underground?

What if, we made all our new clothes from old clothes?

What if, we could fly regionally with electric airplanes?

What If, We Grow Wood In A Lab Instead Of Cutting Down Trees?

What if, we could produce the fuels of the future using only water?

What if, we could make steel using electricity and water?

What if, we build a digital platform to help small farmers access large markets?

What if, we could rust and de-rust iron to store energy cheaply and at scale?

What If, We Build Houses That Clean The Air?

What if, tenants could build credit score by being on time with rent payments?

What If, AI Could Make Us More Inclusive?

What if, we build roads that charge electric vehicles as they go?

What If, We Replace Freight Trucks With Electric, Autonomous Robots?

What If, We Could Have Both Eggs And Chicken Without Any Real Chickens?

What if, we build robots to help small-scale fish farmers with feeding?

What if, we use drones to help birds spread seeds around the world?

What if, poor communities could use the sun to make their own freshwater at scale?

What if, we build a digital platform to help small-scale farmers grow their businesses?

What if, we use drones to re-plant forests quickly and efficiently?

What if, we make fish feed out of captured greenhouse gases?

What if, we build cheap and simple solar systems to make anyone, anywhere energy independent?

What if, we ensure freight trucks never travel with any empty space?

What if, we could treat depression, anxiety and insomnia with a smartphone app?

What if, we could save water by retrofitting old farmland equipment with internet connectivity?

What if, we use big data to find cancer early?

What if, we create a social network dedicated to learning?

What if, we could save lives by making cheap and energy-efficient cookstoves available at scale?

What if, we could make every apartment block run on solar energy?

What if, we could use plants instead of petroleum to make the stuff we need?

What if, we make people buy less clothes by creating better detergent?

What if, we could predict and prevent serious medical problems with the help of data science and wearables?

What if, we could turn sewers into public health observatories?

What if, we build a credit ratings agency for carbon offsets?

What if, we build a cutting-edge digital finance platform for small-time businesses in Africa?

What if, we use digital therapeutics to treat insomnia and anxiety?

What if, we use a blockchain to protect the world's poorest from fraud?

What if, we deploy satellite data to help small-scale farmers maximize their crop yields?

What if, we mimic the behaviour of plankton to purify water cheaply and at scale?

What if, we could slow down climate change by growing edible superfoods?

What if, we could make second hand gadgets the first hand choice?

What if, we store surplus energy in really, really hot blocks of carbon?

What if, large corporations could go green and energy-independent by building their own solar parks?

What if, we create crops that clean the air as they grow?

What if, we connect small-scale farmers with agricultural experts over the internet?

What If, We Use Carbon Captured From The Air To Create Food?

What if, we design electric motorbikes for taxi drivers in emerging countries?

What if, we could help every household transition to green energy?

100 Ideas That Can Change 1 Billion Lives.

As featured in

Impact/100 — 2022

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

1Komma5

Energy
Germany

AgroLeague

Agriculture
France

Air Protein

Climatetech
US

Alight

Energy
Sweden

Ampersand

Transport
Rwanda

Andes Ag

Agriculture
US

Antora Energy

Energy
US

Apollo Agriculture

Agriculture
Kenya

Aquammodate

Biotech
Sweden

Arborea

Biotech
UK

Asilimia

Fintech
Kenya

Backmarket

E-commerce
France

BanQu

Fintech
US

BeZero Carbon

Fintech
UK

Big Health

Healthcare
US

Biobot Analytics

Healthcare
US

Biofourmis

Healthcare
Singapore

Biorestore

Sustainability
Sweden

Bloc Power

Energy
US

Bloom Biorenewables

Energy
Switzerland

Brimstone Energy

Climatetech
US

Burn Cookstoves

Energy
Kenya

C The Signs

Healthcare
UK

CanopyLAB

Education
Denmark

Cerebral

Healthcare
US

Climateview

Climatetech
Sweden

Coda

Agriculture
US

Commons

Climatetech
US

Convoy

Transport
US

DeHaat

Agriculture
India

Deep Branch

Biotech
UK

Dendra Systems

Climatetech
UK

Desolenator

Energy
Netherlands

Eat Just

Foodtech
US

Ecording

Energy
Turkey

Einride

Transport
Sweden

Elonroad

Transport
Sweden

Equalicert

Inclusivity
US

Esusu

Fintech
US

Farmforce

Agriculture
Norway

Foray

Agriculture
US

Form Energy

Energy
US

H2 Green Steel

Energy
Sweden

H2Pro

Energy
Israel

Heart Aerospace

Transport
Sweden

Heirloom

Climatetech
US

Infinited Fiber

Sustainability
Finland

Juli

Healthcare
US

Karius

Healthcare
US

Kwara

Fintech
Kenya

Living Carbon

Climatetech
US

Made of Air

Climatetech
Germany

Mamotest

Healthcare
Argentina

Material Exchange

E-commerce
Sweden

Mission Barns

Foodtech
US

Molecular Attraction

Healthcare
Sweden

Mori

Biotech
US

Natural Fiber Welding

Climatetech
US

Natures Fynd

Foodtech
US

Nauto

Transport
US

Nilus

Foodtech
Argentina

Northvolt

Energy
Sweden

Olio

Sustainability
UK

Pearbio

Healthcare
UK

Planet A

Foodtech
Germany

Quaise Energy

Energy
US

Redwood Materials

Sustainability
US

Running Tide

Climatetech
US

RxAll

Medtech
Nigeria

Solstice

Climatetech
US

Solugen

Biotech
US

SoundAg

Agriculture
US

SpaceX

Inclusivity
US

Submer

Energy
Spain

TIPA

Biotech
Israel

Three Wheels United

Fintech
India

TurtleTree

Foodtech
Singapore

Twelve

Climatetech
US

Tytocare

Healthcare
Israel

UPSIDE Foods

Foodtech
US

Unacademy

Education
India

Verdox

Climatetech
US

Via Separations

Climatetech
US

Village Data Analytics

Energy
Germany

Vinted

Sustainability
Lithuania

Vira Health

Healthcare
UK

Volta GreenTech

Climatetech
Sweden

Wala Health

Healthcare
Ghana

WellaHealth

Healthcare
Nigeria

Wild Type

Foodtech
US

Winnow

Sustainability
UK

Ynsect

Foodtech
France

Zero Acre Farms

Foodtech
US

ZeroAvia

Transport
US

Zipline

Healthcare
US

d.light

Energy
US

eFishery

Agriculture
Indonesia

instagrid

Energy
Germany

microTERRA

Agriculture
Mexico

microverse

Education
US
Ulrika Modéer





UN Assistant Secretary-General & Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, UNDP
Jacqueline Novogratz







Founder and CEO, Acumen
Matt Miller






Partner, Sequoia
Srishti Gupta





Ex-director, Global Development Programs, McKinsey & Board Member Norrsken Foundation
Carl Manneh
 




Co-founder, Mojang (creators of Minecraft), Board Member Norrsken Foundation
Nonkululeko Nyembezi






Chairperson, Standard Bank Group
Niklas Adalberth





Founder of Norrsken Foundation & Co-Founder of payments unicorn Klarna
Amit Bouri






CEO & Co-Founder of
Global Impact Investing Network


2022 Impact/100 Rising Star Winner: Brimstone

A scalable innovation with enormous climate potential, targetting one of the world’s biggest uses of carbon. If it succeeds, it has the power to reduce CO2 emissions to the tune of eliminating all cars on the planet.

Impact/100 Jury
2022 Impact/100 Shining Star Winner: Unacademy

Addresses a sector that is fundamental to all other areas of impact. Solving access to education will both directly and indirectly enable us to tackle many other SDGs. With a model that allows for rapid scaling, and backed by very high-profile and experienced investors, this company has the power to transform lives on a global scale.

Impact/100 Jury

Did You Find
This Interesting?

Sign up for more news and exclusive event invites from the Norrsken ecosystem.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

FAQ

What Is This?

The Impact100 is an annual list of the world’s most promising impact startups, compiled by Norrsken and our nomination partners. 

It exists to highlight the power of entrepreneurship to drive positive change, and to celebrate the individuals brave enough to try and change the world for the better. 

In other words: It’s 100 ideas with the potential to change 1 billion lives. Pretty cool, right?

Who Made The List?

The Impact100 is created by the Norrsken Foundation. It is compiled from nominations made by our partners. This year, we collaborated with Acumen, The Obama Foundation, Katapult, Unreasonable, Softbank, Leaps by Bayer, Footprint Coalition, Summa Equity, World Fund, SEIF, Trellis Road, Early Bird Venture Capital, BMW Foundation and others.

What Is Norrsken?

Glad you asked! Norrsken is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-political foundation, with a strong belief in effective altruism. It was founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of payment services unicorn Klarna. 

Our mission is to help entrepreneurs solve the world’s greatest challenges. To do that, we’re hard at work building an ecosystem where founders can find the capital, knowledge and network they need to make saving the world their business. 

We run Norrsken House in Stockholm, Sweden, Europe’s largest hub for tech and impact startups, and Norrsken House in Kigali, Rwanda, the largest startup hub in Africa. We incubated Norrsken VC - a $130 million impact VC fund investing in the best entrepreneurs that solve global challenges using technology, and Norrsken22, a $200 million growth fund backing exceptional entrepreneurs building Africa’s new tech unicorns. We also manage the Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Europe's leading Accelerator program for early stage impact startups.

What’s An Impact Startup?

An impact startup is a fast-growing company where positive impact forms an intrinsic and non-negotiable part of the business model. We are particularly interested in companies that leverage scalable technology to solve global problems. 

We define impact as driving meaningful and measurable progress towards one or several of the UN global development goals. 

If you want to learn more about how we define and measure impact, check out Norrsken VC:s annual Impact Report at norrsken.org/about.

What Are The Criteria For Being Included On The List?

The Impact 100 consists of:

*Impact companies, meaning companies where positive global impact is an intrinsic and non-negotiable part of the business model.

*High-risk, high-potential ventures that aim to leverage scalable technology to do business and drive positive impact.

*Businesses with a scalable business model and a proven ability to combine growth with positive global impact.

*Companies that have delivered at least an MVP product to market and/or raised at least seed/series A-funding.

*Impact is defined as driving measurable, positive progress against the 17 sustainable development goals.

*The Impact 100 winners are the companies that the jury believe have the most potential to grow into impact unicorns - companies whose work will positively impact the lives of 1 billion people.

Is The List Ranked? Are There Winners?

The list itself is without ranking, but there are awards in different categories. This year, the categories are Shining Star - for companies valued at above 1bUSD - and Rising Star - for companies valued at below 1bUSD. The winner will be revealed at an awards ceremony held as part of Stockholm Impact Week.

Who Chooses The Winners?

The winners are chosen by the Impact100 jury. The members of the 2022 jury are: Niklas Adalberth, founder of Norrsken Foundation, Matt Miller, partner at Sequoia Capital, Ulrika Modéer, UN assistant secretary general, Amit Bouri, CEO of Global Impact Investing Network, Carl Manneh, co-founder of Mojang, Srishti Gupta, ex-director at McKinsey, Nonkululeko Nyembezi, chairwoman at Standard Bank and Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of Acumen.

Why Isn’t Company X On The List?

It’s hard to say! It might be that our team looked at the company and decided it wasn’t right for the list. Or - it might not have been nominated at all. We’ve done our best to source as many relevant nominations as possible, to cover a wide spectrum of companies, problems and solutions. But there will of course be cases we’ve missed, and calls made where you’ll disagree with us. 

If you’re a startup founder - don’t hesitate to let us know if you think you deserve a spot on the list. Or - if the Norrsken ecosystem can support you in any other way: info@norrskenfoundation.org.

How Many Nominations Did You Evaluate This Year?

Our team evaluated more than 500 nominations this year.

This Is A Great Project! How Can I Contribute?

Glad you like it! We’re always looking for more partners to help us source relevant nominations and give the Impact100 companies the attention they deserve. Get in touch and we’ll make something cool happen. info@norrskenfoundation.org.