Why this impact team is trekking for a month across Greenland

“Our biggest challenge is we've probably overpacked,” Lexi Novitske laughs, from a room in the small town of Kangerlussuaq in Western Greenland.

Novitske, general partner at Norrsken22, an Africa-focussed tech growth fund with a big impact focus, is speaking to Impact Loop from Kangerlussuaq alongside Daphne de Jong, founder of Ven, which specialises in insurance underwriting for the climate transition (think new energy infrastructure, green data centres, green hydrogen). They and their team are about to set off on a one month, 1,500km snowkite trek across Greenland.

“We're fully packed on two sleds, each with our camping gear, fuel, and, of course, all the food we'll need for for the month,” says Novitske. “Not very many changes of clothes, though, so at least on that sidewe're light.”

The challenge(s)

You may be wondering why an impact investor and San Francisco-based founder  are trekking across Greenland for a month. Part of the answer is adventure, of course, but there’s an impact motivation underlying the expedition. The team will be taking measurements along the way, things like snow density and depth, to contribute to risk analyses for Greenland’s ice sheet.

“It’s very important to understand what's going to happen with the ice sheets,” says de Jong. "And actually there's very little real, in situ, data on the ice sheet, beyond aircraft and satellite information. So we're trying to cross-reference the real-world data with that information."

The data serves a scientific purpose, but also is intended to bring what’s happening in places like the Arctic back to the world’s attention.

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Amid global economic and political instability – not least the bizarre episode between the US and Greenland, which made it harder for Novitske and de Jong’s team to get permits for this expedition – the world’s focus is being pulled from the longer-term efforts to secure a common future. And that has an impact on funding.

We're trying to cross-reference the real-world data with that information

Global instability leaves impact in the cold

“There's just so much volatility in the financial and venture ecosystems now that people don't want to place very long term bets with their capital,” says Novitske. “They're looking for the sure thing [which will give them] commercial returns and are not necessarily focused on these much longer term impact-oriented investments. I think the pendulum will swing the other way, but for the time being, it is a bit scary.”

The site of much of that volatility is in the US. From the founder perspective, says de Jong, there is still capital available there, but from smaller and more diverse sources, as federal funding evaporates. The Trump administration’s executive orders and legal moves on energy and climate regulation are causing problems as well, so those groups need to try to adapt to the new landscape.

Amid all of this, the team are hoping to learn more about the practical changes happening in the Arctic, while also taking the challenge as an opportunity to reflect on future strategies. After a few days of hauling their gear up to the ice sheet, the team have nearly a month of downwind travel, across a lot of wide open snow.

“Combating the boredom will be a challenge in itself,” says de Jong. “It's interesting to step away and not be reachable on a daily basis. And then also, people who focus on impact work, seeing sort of what you're trying to do, what you're trying to protect with your work, also inspires us to look at things a little bit differently and maybe kick ourselves under the butt and work a little harder.”