In an op-ed in Dagens industri in December 2022, BackingMinds General Partner Susanne Najafi and SPP savings economist Shoka Åhrman argued that prejudice is holding back gender equality in business. Many investors still picture a man when they imagine a successful entrepreneur, and that shapes who gets funded.

In 2021, female founders received only 0.5% of the venture capital invested, even though women make up about a third of entrepreneurs. Research from Luleå University of Technology shows that women received only 25% of the funding they asked for, while men received more than half. Yet startups founded or co-founded by women generated 10% higher revenue per year over a five-year period. Overlooking female founders costs an estimated 3–6% of global GDP each year. It also affects who gets to own, and with that who appoints the boards and management teams of the future.