As a million bankers flee the plunging markets, one brave Icelandic singer – known for coos, shrieks and a swan dress – is proudly taking their place. Björk has turned venture capitalist, with a new fund that aims to revive Iceland's economy.
Björk is working with Audur Capital, a Reykjavik-based investment company founded and managed by women. Audur Capital will oversee the fund's day-to-day dealings, directing an initial investment of 100m Icelandic krona (£575,000) toward sustainable, environmentally-friendly businesses.
"The fund will invest in sustainable businesses that create value through the country's unique resources, spectacular nature, vibrant culture and green energy," the Audur Capital website explains.
The company seeks to raise as much as 1.5bn krona before new investors begin to contribute to the fund at the end of March. "We are attracting a lot of interest from Iceland and abroad as increasingly more people are looking for investments whose returns aren't only financial," Halla Tomasdottir, Audur Capital's executive chair, told Bloomberg.
Björk's fund will be called, er ... Björk.
Iceland is in dire straits following the collapse of its financial services industry earlier this year. After helping the country to a 10-year economic boom, over-confident Icelandic financiers were ruined by the American subprime mortgage crisis and its aftershocks. The krona has lost half its value in the past year.
But according to Tomasdottir the plummeting currency is a feature, as it "represents a lower barrier to entry" for Iceland's economy and will encourage foreign investors.
Though Audur Capital has not divulged the material investment of Björk the singer in Björk the fund, knowing her work we imagine it is something along the lines of one heron feather, five regrets and 16 baby teeth.
