Headquartered in Helsinki, Voima Ventures is a VC firm dedicated to the world of deep tech on a mission to scale solutions that are focused on science and diversity. The firm is now taking the Nordics by storm bringing two seasoned female VC execs into the fold.
Women-led VC funds are still few and far between, especially in the male-dominated deeptech field. While the arena has come a long way, there is still much work to be done to ensure that both the VC and startup spaces have a more even playing field. We took a look into the position of women in Europe’s startup ecosystem recently.
Voima Ventures has just announced that they are continuing to contribute to the strong Nordic tech scene and are growing their team. Investment Director Jenny Engerfelt (formerly Almi Invest) supported by a senior Venture Advisor Malin Carlstrom (Head of Ventures at ABB Electrification) will grow Voima Ventures’ investment operations in Sweden.
Voima’s mission is to solve major global problems by combining science, entrepreneurship and capital. The key verticals the firm focuses on include bio and new materials, medical tech and life sciences, imaging and optics, IoT and electronics, robotics, software and ICT, Quantum and AI.
Inka Mero, Managing Partner and founder at Voima Ventures, said: “We’re incredibly excited to see these two superwomen joining our mission. The purpose of Voima Ventures has always been to be a truly diverse Nordic deep tech fund, and having team members in both Finland and Sweden will surely help us strengthen our Nordic research and tech hub presence”.
The expansion to Sweden is an important step for Voima Ventures. While having a truly diverse and international team has been in the core values from the very start, the strengthened presence in Sweden also makes it easier to work with Swedish deep tech entrepreneurs on a grassroots level. In addition, a truly focused deep tech fund such as Voima Ventures is necessary for combating the deep tech gap that’s present in the Nordic startup scene. The majority of Nordic deep tech investments still flow to later stage and mega-rounds, and Voima Ventures wants to fill in the existing seed-stage gap.
Having worked as both an Investment Manager and Fund Manager for the better part of a decade, Jenny brings hands-on experience from early-stage investing and a broad network into the Swedish startup ecosystem.
Jenny commented: “I joined Voima Ventures because I am extremely motivated by the mission to support early stage deep tech entrepreneurs with big missions. There are so many great entrepreneurs with ideas with scientific foundation or deep tech focus that have a true impact on the world, but there is not enough money in the crucial early stages. The grassroot-level work we’re able to do with founders in various domains like quantum, biotech or new materials is often overlooked. Especially in deep tech, visiting factories and labs, and connecting with universities and other early stage investors is a big part in assessing the startups potential and supporting the founders in the first steps in scaling and recruiting talent.”
In addition to Jenny, high-profile VC investor Malin Carlström will be joining the Swedish Voima Ventures team as a senior Venture Advisor. Malin is a well-known venture capital veteran, who’s spent the last years heading ABB Electrifications global Venture team. Since Malin’s recent work has focused on electrification and digitization of the industry, and she’s led several high-profile deep tech rounds globally, working with the Nordic early-stage venture scene complements her current role well, in addition to providing value to startups eyeing internationalization and growth.
Malin said: “At Voima Ventures, I hope to help evaluate promising technologies and support teams in the early phases. With my growth stage and corporate insights, I know the routes to successful expansion – and how to avoid the pitfalls.”
Inka Mero added: “Ultimately, we hope our strengthened Nordic presence can help us find more game-changing and impact-driven next-generation founders and scientists with groundbreaking ideas, and that we can help them scale new solutions globally for the people, planet and industry”.
The Nordic region is in an exciting moment of innovation and thriving growth at the moment. We’ve been keeping a close eye on this area, recently checking out up-and-coming startups from Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
