First North

Nasdaq First North Growth Market is a market operated within the Nasdaq Nordic framework for smaller and growing companies seeking access to public equity trading. It is legally structured as a multilateral trading facility rather than a regulated stock-market segment, placing it between a conventional exchange listing and a private-market financing venue. The market is designed to provide companies with a public quotation and investor access while applying a rulebook that is generally less extensive than the requirements of Nasdaq Nordic’s regulated main markets. The market developed from Nya Marknaden in Stockholm, which was renamed First North in June 2006. Its geographic reach expanded soon afterward: First North became available in Iceland in January 2007 and in Helsinki in April 2007. The platform subsequently formed part of the broader Nasdaq Nordic and Baltic marketplace structure, giving companies in several Northern European jurisdictions access to a shared trading environment. A defining feature of First North is the Certified Adviser system. Each admitted company must appoint a Certified Adviser, whose role is to guide the issuer through the admission process and help it comply with the market’s continuing requirements and rules. This arrangement is intended to provide an additional layer of oversight for companies that may not yet have the scale, operating history, governance infrastructure, or reporting capacity expected of companies on the regulated main market. First North shares a trading system with Nasdaq’s main Nordic markets. The common infrastructure can support familiar trading, market-data, and investor-access processes, while the separate market classification distinguishes the obligations and admission framework applicable to growth-market issuers. Companies using the market may include emerging businesses and firms pursuing expansion that want a public equity profile before potentially moving to a regulated market, although admission to First North does not itself guarantee a later transfer. The market is relevant to both issuers and investors. For issuers, it offers a route to public capital, visibility, and a tradable shareholder base. For investors, it provides access to smaller companies and growth-oriented opportunities that may not be represented on the main exchanges. Those opportunities also involve higher risks, including limited operating histories, lower liquidity, greater volatility, and less extensive disclosure requirements than on a regulated market. First North therefore operates as a specialized growth-market brand within Nasdaq’s Northern European exchange network rather than as a standalone national exchange. By early 2024, approximately 550 companies were listed across Nasdaq First North. The market’s continuing role is to support smaller-company listings across the Nordic and Baltic ecosystem while connecting those issuers to Nasdaq’s established exchange technology and marketplace infrastructure.

First North originated in the Stockholm market known as Nya Marknaden. In June 2006, that market was renamed First North, creating a distinct identity for a venue intended to serve smaller and growth-oriented companies. The rebranding also marked the beginning of the market’s development as a broader Northern European proposition rather than only a Stockholm initiative. Expansion followed quickly. First North entered the Icelandic market in January 2007 and was introduced in Helsinki in April of the same year. It subsequently operated within the wider Nasdaq Nordic and Baltic exchange structure, alongside the main markets associated with Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Iceland, and the Baltic exchanges. This networked approach allowed the brand to function across multiple national markets while using common Nasdaq infrastructure. First North is legally a multilateral trading facility, commonly abbreviated MTF, and is not equivalent to a regulated main-market listing. Its rulebook is less extensive than that of the regulated markets. The distinction is important: the venue is designed to make public-market access more attainable for smaller companies, but investors must assess businesses that may have shorter histories, smaller capitalizations, more limited liquidity, and different disclosure obligations from main-market issuers. The Certified Adviser model is central to the market’s structure. Every First North company is required to have a Certified Adviser. The adviser assists the company with admission and ongoing compliance, helping it understand and meet the market’s rules. This model provides an intermediary layer of guidance and supervision suited to issuers that may have less experience with public-company obligations than larger firms listed on a regulated exchange. Technologically, First North shares a trading system with Nasdaq’s main markets. This common system links the growth market to established trading and market-data infrastructure and gives investors access through the same broader Nasdaq marketplace environment. The combination of shared technology and differentiated admission rules allows Nasdaq to offer a specialized venue without creating an entirely separate trading architecture. The market’s business function is to connect smaller companies with public equity investors. Issuers can use a First North admission to raise capital, establish a tradable share price, increase visibility, and build a public shareholder base. Investors receive access to companies that may be in expansion phases or developing sectors. A First North listing can also serve as part of a company’s longer-term capital-markets path, although the market itself is not simply a preliminary stage that guarantees migration to a regulated main market. By early 2024, around 550 companies were listed on Nasdaq First North. Its continuing identity is therefore that of a cross-border growth-market brand within Nasdaq Nordic: less demanding than a regulated main market in certain respects, but supported by formal rules, Certified Advisers, Nasdaq trading infrastructure, and a regional investor network.

1. 2024Approximately 550 listed companies

   Around 550 companies were listed on Nasdaq First North in early 2024.

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2. 2007Expansion into Iceland

   First North expanded to the Icelandic exchange, extending the market beyond Sweden.

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3. 2007Launch in Helsinki

   First North became available in Helsinki, adding Finland to its operating footprint.

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4. 2006Stockholm market renamed First North

   Nya Marknaden in Stockholm was renamed First North, establishing the brand’s initial market identity.

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A lower-threshold public growth market within Nasdaq Nordic, positioned for smaller companies that need access to equity investors but may not yet meet the scale or regulatory profile of a main-market listing.

• Nasdaq First North Growth MarketGrowth stock market2006

  A multilateral trading facility within the Nasdaq Nordic and Baltic ecosystem for smaller and developing companies. It provides public equity admission, trading, and investor access under a rulebook that is less extensive than the requirements of Nasdaq’s regulated main markets. Each issuer must appoint a Certified Adviser to support compliance with admission and continuing obligations. The market uses the same trading system as Nasdaq’s main markets while retaining a distinct growth-market status.

• 2006Creation of the First North growth-market identityStrategy

  The Stockholm venue Nya Marknaden served smaller companies outside the main regulated-market structure.

  What changed. The market was renamed First North, creating a recognizable regional growth-market brand.

  Aftermath. The brand was subsequently extended to Iceland and Helsinki and became part of Nasdaq Nordic’s wider marketplace structure.

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• 2024First North had approximately 550 listed companies in early 2024

  The market had grown to roughly 550 listed companies across its Northern European operating footprint by early 2024.

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• 2007First North expanded to Iceland

  First North extended its Northern European presence when the market became available on the Icelandic exchange.

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• 2007First North expanded to Helsinki

  The growth-market offering was introduced in Helsinki, broadening its availability to Finnish issuers and investors.

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• 2006Nya Marknaden renamed First North in Stockholm

  The Stockholm market known as Nya Marknaden adopted the First North name, establishing the brand that later became part of Nasdaq Nordic’s growth-market offering.

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1. Nasdaq First North