The Inner Foundation invests in BLING Capital - a VC fund targeting startups from underserved communities

“We started BLING Capital with a simple purpose: to unleash the overlooked potential of under-represented founders. We believe that there are countless opportunities that are undervalued just because not everyone has access to closed homogeneous investor networks. We must be an alternative to those who lack capital-strong networks and thus lose the traditional "family, friends & fools" capital at an early stage”, says Deqa Abukar, co-founder of Bling Capital.

“We are excited to support Deqa and Adnan’s initiative building on a strong foundation already in place through their work with the ecosystem in supporting entrepreneurs around Järvafältet in northern Stockholm. This is a great initiative, not just from an inclusion, diversity and equity perspective, but it is also a great financial opportunity to address an overlooked market. Through this investment we hope to see more companies scale from underserved communities”, says Pär-Jörgen Pärson, Co-Founder, The Inner Foundation and with extensive experience from investing in the very best technology startups in Europe and US.

The background was a Breakit review which showed that just under one percent of the capital from Sweden's largest venture capital company was invested in startups with roots from the underserved communities. At the same time, 70 percent of the capital ended up in companies with an address within Stockholm's customs border. After the success of the incubator program and movement of Bling for entrepreneurs in areas and groups that do not usually apply for entrepreneurship, Deqa Abukar and Adnan Yousef are ready to start the next project - a vc fund of a total of SEK 30 million.

The fund, which goes by the name Bling Capital, will invest in companies at a very early stage, so-called "pre-seed". The investment amount can amount to around SEK 1 million. The basic teams must consist of people from under-represented groups, which may, for example, be about gender, ethnicity or area of ​​upbringing.

“Through Bling, we have very good access to and contact with entrepreneurs to invest in and also extensive experience of supporting and developing their businesses”, says Deqa Abukar.

“Pär-Jörgen and Johan have been a huge support throughout the process. Yet from the beginning, they have sat at the drawing tables and been involved in the whole process of how the fund should be designed. We have a great pipeline of companies and experience of supporting entrepreneurs, but they come in with invaluable knowledge and experience of investing themselves that we have no background on. We complement each other very well “, continues Deqa Abukar.

Deqa Abukar believes that it is clear that investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs is not a charity. “We believe that there is a strength in offering underrepresented entrepreneurs capital. We are strictly commercial and do not want in any way to be perceived as a charity project, but we will also create profits for society at large if we succeed in our ambitions. There is also support in research that shows that diversity and pluralism create successful companies.”

For further information, please contact:

Deqa Abukar
Co-founder, BLING
deqa@blingstartup.se
+46 72 251 66 47

Precious Jocson
Chief of staff, The Inner Foundation
precious.jocson@theinnerfoundation.org
+46 73 714 94 63