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82 percent of tech cash goes to male entrepreneurs

Sweden may be one of the most gender equal countries in the world, but a new report by DI Digital sheds light on a money divide in the startup world.

82 percent of tech cash goes to male entrepreneurs
2016 has been a record year for investments in IT firms. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

Venture capitalists and business angel investors are expected to have invested 15 billion kronor ($1.63 billion) in Swedish IT companies this year by the end of 2016, according to database Nordic Tech List.

Four percent of 377 investments in 336 businesses have gone to female founders and 14 percent to businesses with both male and female co-founders, reports tech and business site DI Digital.

A total of 82 percent has been invested in companies with only male founders.

“The challenge is that there are so few girls who start tech companies. Venture capital goes mainly to that type of business,” Marie Wall, startup manager at Sweden's Enterprise Ministry, told the newspaper.

“We see the same pattern across the world. Why don't girls go for tech?”

State-run Vinnova split its investments equally between male and female founders. It was followed by the Springfield Project, which gave 50 percent of its cash to businesses run only by men and 20 percent to women, but 30 percent to businesses with male and female co-founders.

The statistics come amid a government push to make companies boost the number of women on boards in Sweden and efforts to persuade more girls to pursue careers in tech.

Earlier this year leading incubator Sting revealed that, for the first time, half of the startups awarded cash in its first investment round of 2016 were run or co-founded by women.

Peo Nilsson, programme manager and business coach at Sting Accelerate, told The Local at the time that it had not actively sought out more women.

“We don't have any quotas or so, we simply try to select the best companies (…) it is usually about two out of eight that have women co-founders,” he said.

“But I think that you could argue that we are pretty conscious when it comes to finding startups where at least one of the co-founders is a woman. We do that in a range of ways from sponsoring different events to word-of-mouth (…) getting into the right communities and events to tell women we are here to help.”

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How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Sweden's tax agency, Skatteverket, warns of an increase in scams when it's time for Swedish tax-payers to declare their taxes.

How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Anyone who earned more than 22,208 kronor last year received their tax returns digitally last week, marking the start of tax season.

That also means an expected peak in tax-related scams, Skatteverket warns.

Most of the scams are so-called phishing scams, meaning attempts to steal the victims’ personal information. Fraudsters may for example email a person, pretending to represent Skatteverket, and ask them for, among other things, their banking details.

“We’re seeing these in all channels. They use fake emails, SMS, letters and in some cases even phone calls. It is particularly common in tax declaration times – just when we’re about to send out the tax returns, the e-service opens and it’s possible to declare – but above all when it’s time for tax rebates,” Jan Janowski, a Skatteverket expert, told Swedish news agency TT.

A scam email might for example state that you’re entitled to a tax rebate and that you should click a link to receive it. Don’t click any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Skatteverket advises that you immediately delete the email or text message.

Another common scam is that you receive a text message claiming to be from Skatteverket, telling you that you owe them money and you need to log in to calculate the amount. The website you’re urged to log in via does not belong to Skatteverket. Don’t click the link.

The agency stresses that it never asks people for their banking details. The exception is that you may be asked for your bank account information if you log into Skatteverket’s website to declare your taxes, but that always first requires you to log into the site.

To receive your tax rebate, you need to inform Skatteverket of your bank account number. You do this not by clicking a link in an email or SMS, but by logging into their website using a digital ID, for example BankID, and submitting your details. Only do this on your own initiative. If someone calls you and asks you to log in with your BankID during the phone call, don’t do it. That’s another common scam.

Skatteverket will also never call you to ask for your bank account or credit card number.

It will be possible to declare your taxes from March 19th. You’ll receive any tax rebate you’re owed by mid-April or early June, depending on when you submit your tax return. These are the dates when fraudsters are likely to attempt the most scams.

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