National Representative of the Year: Deqa Abukar on inclusion as a business strategy - and why Sweden must build together

When Deqa Abukar, co-founder of BLING and one of the initiators behind Sweden Startup Nation, was named National Representative of the Year in the Angel Prize 2025, she was celebrated not only as an investor but as a voice for the entire ecosystem.

The award went to Stina Lantz, CEO of SISP, and together they are now behind Sweden Startup Nation, a platform that unites Sweden's startup forces around a common vision: to gather Sweden's startup forces around a common agenda, build with data, and open doors for more people.

In the interview, Deqa talks about what the award means, why inclusion is a business strategy, how angel investors can unlock growth, and how Sweden can continue to be a leading startup nation through collaboration and courage.

An honor and a mission

For Deqa, the award is more than a personal recognition. It is a responsibility.

"It feels great to win an award that is about exactly what we are trying to embody - building an ecosystem where more people can fit in."

She sees herself not only as a prize winner, but as a representative of the entire Swedish startup landscape.

"It's about embodying what Sweden has to offer as an entrepreneurial country and making it accessible to more people."

Being voted for by industry peers makes it even more meaningful," she says:

"It's an honor, but also a great responsibility. It's the whole country you represent, and it feels both great and very nice."

Inclusion as an innovation driver

Deqa describes inclusion not as a value, but as a strategy for growth.

"I see diversity, inclusion and sustainability as a business strategy. Nothing less than that. It is a competitive advantage. The country, company or ecosystem that invests in it will be ahead."

She believes that real innovation requires the right conditions.

"It is difficult to innovate if you have other types of stress, or if you lack assets. We want to bridge that and make sure people have what they need to contribute to the innovation landscape."

For her, it's about width and height.

"The broader the ecosystem we have, the better height we get. And this is also true in the innovation system. More perspectives lead to stronger ideas."

The key role of angel investors

As co-founder of BLING, Deqa knows the crucial role angel investors play for entrepreneurs outside the traditional networks.

"The angels come in early and believe in the entrepreneur before everyone else does. For many, they are crucial. Without them, the ecosystem will not move forward."

At the same time, she stresses that investors need to dare to think outside the box.

"Investors need to broaden their horizons. Many people think that talent is only found in certain schools or networks, but we need to stop thinking like that. Potential is everywhere."

It is, as she says, a two-way street - entrepreneurs need to take up space, but investors also need to open the door wider.

From grassroots to national voice

Deqa started För-orten and BLING as local initiatives, but they have now grown into national platforms.

"Every year we receive hundreds of ideas, from Luleå to Trelleborg. It shows that entrepreneurship is everywhere, we just need to capture it."

This experience informs her views on how Sweden can strengthen its startup climate.

"I see it as a responsibility, both to the ecosystem and to the community we built. What we have done proves that this can be scaled up. Now it's about doing it for all of Sweden."

She calls her work a call to action.

"All the results we've seen - the numbers, the projects, the successes - should be a blueprint for how we can scale up for the whole country."

Sweden Startup Nation - built together by SISP and BLING

Sweden Startup Nation is the result of two worlds coming together: the structured innovation system via SISP and the entrepreneurial power of BLING. Through their respective organizations, Stina Lantz and Deqa Abukar are the initiators behind the platform - a collaboration that brings together grassroots movement and institutional change.

"It must not stop at individual initiatives or organizations. For Sweden to remain one of the world's most innovative countries, we must work together, beyond our own structures."

Sweden Startup Nation will both show the world what Sweden can do as a startup country and improve the conditions here at home.

"We want to work with more representative data. When we can show the gap with facts, we can also find solutions that really work."

She sees the collaboration with Stina Lantz as a natural step.

"It shows that we both embody what this award is about - being national representatives of the whole ecosystem, and building something bigger than ourselves."

Looking ahead: more people joining the momentum

Deqa describes the Swedish startup system as being in a momentum, a chance to gear up.

"There's a lot of talk about 'all eyes on Sweden' right now. That's a good thing. But the question is how we get more people to join this momentum."

Her dream image in five years is simple but powerful.

"I hope we have brought more people into the ecosystem - more founders, more investors, more voices from different places and backgrounds. Then the results will be visible."

For young entrepreneurs, especially those who don't feel invited to the start-up world, she has a piece of advice she has lived by.

"Don't wait for an invitation. I didn't get one. I helped myself. If you can't get into the room, create your own and invite others."

A common thread through the prize and the future

The fact that both Stina Lantz (SISP) and Deqa Abukar (BLING) have been awarded the title of National Representative of the Year is more than symbolic. It is a sign of a new direction. Two women from different parts of the ecosystem who together are building a common platform for Sweden's future startup and innovation system.

"There is something nice about both me and Stina receiving this award. It says something about why Sweden Startup Nation is needed. It is a force in collaboration, in seeing Sweden as a common ecosystem - Sweden AB, quite simply."

Listening to Deqa Abukar, you hear both pragmatism and passion. She talks as much about data as she does about dreams, as much about responsibility as she does about opportunities. Perhaps that's where Sweden's next great strength lies: in voices that want to build not just successful startups, but a successful ecosystem for all.