BackingMinds secures a €20M commitment from the EIF as first institutional investor in Fund III, to back Nordic founders outside traditional VC networks

Stockholm-based BackingMinds has received around €20 million from the European Investment Fund for BackingMinds Invest III, with the EIF, backed by the EU's InvestEU programme, coming in as the fund's first institutional investor. The EIF says its commitment is meant to pull in other institutional LPs.

Founded in 2016 by Sara Wimmercranz and Susanne Najafi, BackingMinds invests in early-stage companies, primarily in Sweden and the Nordics, built by founders that venture capital tends to miss: women, people with immigrant backgrounds and teams outside capital cities. Across its first two funds, including a €50 million close in 2022, it has backed 23 companies; 46% had at least one female founder, 43% founders with immigrant backgrounds and 71% were outside a capital city.

Fund III will focus on commercially promising companies addressing environmental or social problems, from emissions to healthcare and education.