Research indicates that female-founded tech startups receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital (VC) funding. In 2023, startups founded solely by women secured just 2% of the total VC capital in the United States. However, startups with mixed-gender founding teams tend to attract more funding. Data shows that companies with at least one female founder accounted for 19% to 24% of funding rounds between 2016 and 2022.
In the fintech sector, female-led companies face significant challenges in securing funding. A report by Anthemis highlights that female founders in fintech often struggle to raise capital across various startup stages. However, one Swedish fintech dubbed as Open Payments, which is an open banking platform led by a female founder Louise Brandt has raised €3 million in funding.
The funding round was led by Swedish VC Alfvén & Didrikson, with participation from Industrifonden and other existing investors. The funding will support the company’s continued growth, enable product development, and advance its mission to simplify and enhance B2B payments across Europe.
“We believe open banking has great potential in the B2B context and we see Open Payments as the market leader in the Nordics, particularly in the ERP segment.” said Måns Alfvén, Partner at Alfvén & Didrikson. “We are very impressed by Open Payments’ team and we’re thrilled to support their journey and help them scale to new heights.”
One platform for all payment needs
Open Payments was founded in 2017 by Jonas Kjellin, Louise Brandt, and Per Westin to address the complexity and inefficiency businesses face when integrating multiple banking services into their systems. This process is often plagued by errors, high costs, and time-consuming efforts.
The payment platform combines Open Banking API connections with ISO-based payment integrations, enabling seamless management of domestic and cross-border payments, account reconciliation, and cash management, all in one place. By embedding these functionalities into businesses’ ERP systems, payment providers, and other financial applications, Open Payments streamlines financial operations and enhances efficiency. Built on the principles of the PSD2 directive, the platform ensures compliance and security at every level.
Recently, the company introduced new products, including cross-border payment capabilities offering lower exchange rates, real-time access to rates for streamlined bookkeeping, and same-day settlements embedded directly in the financial systems.
“We developed Open Payments to simplify banking integrations by aggregating multiple bank APIs into one single API,” said Louise Brandt, CEO and founder of Open Payments, and recipient of the 2024 Payment Pioneer of the Year award. “This approach enables businesses to innovate and improve their financial operations in ways that weren’t possible before. Our ability to combine Open Banking and ISO integrations in one API is what sets us apart. We empower our customers to cut through complexity, save time, and focus on what matters most. With this new funding, we’re excited to accelerate innovation and continue shaping the future of B2B payments.”
Trusted B2B platform
Open Payments is one of the leading open banking platforms for B2B payments. In 2024, Open Payments tripled its transaction volumes, doubled revenue, and achieved full coverage of the Dutch B2B banking landscape, laying the foundation for broader European expansion.
It is trusted by ERP systems, treasury systems, and accounting providers, including Monitor ERP, Treasury Systems, Juni Technologies, Bjorn Lunden, and Speedledger.
European fintechs like Open Payments demonstrate that female entrepreneurs can succeed when given access to capital. The recent €3 million funding round shows that targeted support and investment can help drive innovation and growth in female-led companies. Addressing structural barriers, such as limited networks and biases in the investment process, remains critical to creating a more inclusive startup ecosystem.