# Luzana Costa & Niklas Adalberth: Building for Impact at Scale l Africa/Week 2025 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLr6D8zUUP8 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/iLr6D8zUUP8 Generated: 2026-02-06T23:06:11.979+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna and founder of the Norrsken Foundation, emphasizes that building a company focused on positive impact, such as through technology addressing real-world problems like climate or mental health, requires sustained, focused hard work, contrasting the Silicon Valley model where impact is often secondary to valuation. **Key Points:** - Niklas Adalberth co-founded Klarna, one of Europe's largest fintech companies, which became a unicorn shortly after its founding in 2015. - Adalberth left Klarna to dedicate his time and wealth to the Norrsken Foundation, which operates co-working spaces globally, including Brussels and Barcelona. - He describes his initial goal with Klarna as building a unicorn, which he achieved, but realized that chasing valuation without impact was not motivating. - Adalberth believes that positive impact (e.g., on climate, health, education) and profit are not contradictory, but must be intentionally combined in the business model. - He notes that operating in Africa (like Rwanda) presents different challenges than Silicon Valley, often involving resource constraints and a need to solve real problems rather than chasing easy valuations. - The key learning is that hard work is essential, but it must be focused on solving real problems that benefit humanity and the planet, not just chasing financial returns. - The failure of his initial expansion attempt into Finland taught him the importance of deeply understanding local market narratives and cultural differences. ![Screenshot at 00:04: Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna, gesturing enthusiastically while discussing his favorite Norrsken house during the opening of the interview segment.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-00-04.jpg) **Context:** This video features an interview between Luzana Costa and Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of the major European fintech Klarna and founder of the Norrsken Foundation, during Africa/Week 2025. The discussion centers on Adalberth's transition from building a highly successful commercial venture (Klarna) to focusing on impact-driven work through the Norrsken Foundation, contrasting the motivations and challenges of building businesses in different global contexts like Silicon Valley versus Africa. ## Detailed Analysis The conversation opens with the interviewer welcoming Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna and founder of the Norrsken Foundation, highlighting that Klarna is one of Europe's largest fintech companies, which achieved unicorn status after its founding in 2015, even though Adalberth jokingly calls it a 'side hustle' compared to his main focus on Norrsken. Adalberth explains that his initial goal with Klarna was simply to build a unicorn, but once achieved, he found chasing valuation alone unfulfilling, leading him to quit to focus on the Norrsken Foundation, which establishes co-working hubs globally in places like Brussels and Barcelona. He argues that profit and positive impact (on issues like climate, health, or education) are not mutually exclusive; they must be integrated intentionally. He contrasts the Silicon Valley approach, which he sees as often focusing on easy growth metrics, with the African context (specifically mentioning Rwanda), where impact often means solving fundamental problems under greater resource constraints. He recalls that his early expansion efforts failed because they didn't account for local cultural differences and were too focused on the Western narrative. Adalberth concludes that the key to building impactful ventures is sustained, focused hard work and listening closely to customers, noting that the 'Jevons Paradox' suggests that efficiency gains often lead to increased resource consumption, meaning technology alone cannot solve all problems without accompanying smart policy and cultural understanding. ### Klarna Success & Transition - Co-founded Klarna in 2015, achieving unicorn status - Left to found Norrsken Foundation to focus on impact - Norrsken has houses in Brussels, Barcelona, etc. ### Philosophy on Impact vs. Profit - Profit and impact are not contradictory but must be intentionally combined - Prioritizes solving real problems (climate, health) over chasing pure valuation metrics. ### Challenges in Africa vs. Silicon Valley - African entrepreneurs often operate under more resource constraints than Silicon Valley counterparts - Requires a different approach than just throwing money at problems. ### Lessons Learned - Initial expansion failure into Finland taught the necessity of understanding local culture and market narratives - Hard work must be focused and coupled with good policy. ### The Jevons Paradox - Efficiency gains from technology often lead to increased resource use, meaning technology alone is insufficient to solve global problems. ![Screenshot at 00:02: The interviewer introduces Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna and founder of the Norrsken Foundation, at the Africa/Week 2025 event.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-00-02.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:36: Niklas Adalberth, wearing sunglasses and a light jacket, gesturing while explaining the initial focus of his work.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-00-36.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:44: A stagehand hands a microphone to Niklas Adalberth while the interviewer looks on, resolving a technical issue.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-01-44.jpg) ![Screenshot at 02:28: Niklas Adalberth discusses the diminishing returns curve related to money and happiness.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-02-28.jpg) ![Screenshot at 09:50: The interviewer asks Adalberth about the biggest challenge he faced regarding his conviction in Norrsken's mission.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iLr6D8zUUP8/00-09-50.jpg)