Swedish venture capital firm BackingMinds has received around €20 million from the European Investment Fund (EIF) for its BackingMinds Invest III fund. The fund will focus on supporting promising founders and businesses that are often overlooked by traditional investors.
The EIF, part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group based in Luxembourg, will be the fund’s first institutional investor. The investment is supported by the European Union’s InvestEU programme.
“The future is never where you expect it, and neither are the founders building it,” says BackingMinds Founding Partner Sara Wimmercranz. “Some of the most innovative companies in the Nordics are being built where venture capital rarely reaches. A network is a filter. It lets through what already looks like the network and repeats the patterns of the past. As investors, we need to be more open and seek founders out. The EIF’s commitment lets us do that on a larger scale.”
“Europe cannot afford to leave talented entrepreneurs undiscovered simply because they are outside the traditional venture capital networks,” adds EIF Deputy Chief Executive Merete Clausen. “BackingMinds has shown that promising businesses can be found in places and among founders that investors too often miss. By supporting this fund, we are helping to unlock that potential and bring more capital to companies tackling some of Europe’s most pressing challenges.”
Founded in 2016, BackingMinds is a Stockholm-based venture capital firm established by Sara Wimmercranz and Susanne Najafi. The firm aims to support promising businesses that often struggle to attract investment from traditional investors. Through its first two funds, BackingMinds has invested in 23 companies.
Among these companies, 46% have at least one female founder, 43% have founders from immigrant backgrounds, and 71% are based outside capital cities.
The new fund will invest in early-stage companies across Sweden and the wider Nordic region. It aims to find talented entrepreneurs who may be overlooked by traditional venture capital firms, including women founders, entrepreneurs from immigrant backgrounds, and businesses located outside major cities.
BackingMinds will also support companies with strong business potential that address environmental and social challenges. These include reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, advancing healthcare, and making education better.
